Date: August 31, 2007 

Source: Inter-American Development Bank Press Release 

Opportunity for government and business leaders to discuss partnerships for development in Latin America and the Caribbean

The Inter-American Development Bank will host an event in Miami September 6 at 11am for government officials, business leaders and journalists to officially launch its 2008 Annual Meeting that will take place in the city in April.

IDB President, Luis Alberto Moreno, and the President of the Miami Host Committee, Jorge L. Arrizurieta, will open the event at which Assistant Secretary of the U.S.Treasury for International Affairs Clay Lowery; state and local officials; and the IDB Executive Director for the United States, Hector Morales, will attend.

World renowned pop artist Romero Britto, who will serve as artistic director for the IDB Annual Meeting, will unveil his theme and the logo he designed for the meetings.

The Annual Meeting of the IDB Board of Governors is the main forum for discussion of political, economic and social development in Latin America and the Caribbean. This meeting of finance ministers  in the city of Miami, an unparalleled hub of business activity between the United States and Latin America and the Caribbean, will also attract thousands of participants, including other high-ranking government officials, bankers, business and civil society leaders, academics and journalists from the IDB’s 47 member countries.

The IDB Annual Meeting will feature a series of seminars on top economic issues, such as innovation in energy, trade and competitiveness, small and medium-sized businesses and access to credit, and growth and social inclusion. IDB Annual Meetings are held in a different city in a member country every year. The April 4-8, 2008 meeting will be the second in Miami.

The IDB is the oldest and largest regional development bank and the main source of multilateral development financing in Latin America and the Caribbean.  IDB lending and guarantees to Latin America and the Caribbean totaled $6.4 billion in 2006.

The event to launch the IDB Annual Meeting will be held at the Intercontinental Hotel, 100 Chopin Plaza, Miami, Florida.