What is the Inter-American Development Bank?

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) was established on December 30, 1959, and is the earliest and largest regional and multilateral development bank in the world. The head office is located in Washington. The bank is a specialized organization of the Organization of American States. Countries in other regions can also join, but non-Latin American countries cannot use the bank's funds and can only participate in project bidding organized by the bank. ^[1]

Inter-American Development Bank

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) was established on December 30, 1959, and is the earliest and largest regional and multilateral development bank in the world. The head office is located in Washington. The bank is a specialized organization of the Organization of American States. Countries in other regions can also join, but non-Latin American countries cannot use the bank's funds and can only participate in project bidding organized by the bank. ^[1]

"Concentrate the strength of member countries to provide financial and technical assistance to economic and social development plans of Latin American countries" and assist them to "contribute individually and collectively to accelerated economic development and social progress". ^[1]

The board of directors is the highest authority. It consists of a director appointed by each member country, and meets once a year

The organization has 20 founding member states (19 Latin American countries and the United States). As of 2006, the bank is composed of 28 countries in the Americas, including the United States and Brazil, and 19 members outside the region, including Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, and South Korea. Publications are the Annual Report (English), published in the United States; Latin American Integration (monthly), Spanish, published in Argentina.

China formally submitted an application to the Inter-American Development Bank in 1993, and reiterated this application in 2004. In recent years, the economic and trade relations between China and Latin America have developed rapidly, and many Latin American countries also hope that China joins the Inter-American Development Bank as soon as possible. However, due to US and Japanese obstruction, China's application has been blocked many times. After the global financial crisis in 2008, the Inter-American Development Bank desperately hoped that China would join in to jointly cope with the financial crisis. In January 2009, China officially became the 48th member of the Inter-American Development Bank and the fourth Asian country to join the organization .

Inter-American Development Bank

December 30, 1959. The bank is a specialized agency of the Organization of American States, and other regions can also join. Non-Latin American countries cannot use the bank's funds, but they can participate in project bids organized by the bank. ^[1]