On January 23, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to expand the “CORE” (Cooperation for Economic Recovery and Social Inclusion) partnership framework for cooperation in economic recovery and social inclusion in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the expansion of CORE (Cooperation for Economic Recovery and Social Inclusion) was signed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group.
The signing took place at JICA Headquarters between IDB President Iran Goldfein, representing the IDB Group (Note 1), and JICA President Akihiko Tanaka. As a result, the target amount of JICA’s paid financial cooperation under the CORE Partnership has been increased from US$3 billion to US$4 billion, and the validity period of the framework has been extended from 2026 to 2028.
While economic and social development is advancing in Latin America and the Caribbean, the region faces challenges such as widening disparities, vulnerability to natural disasters, and lagging infrastructure development. The severe economic conditions in Latin America and the Caribbean are expected to continue due to the recent pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine, and there are concerns that the number of poor people will increase and income disparities will further widen.
Through this MOU, the IDB and JICA reaffirm their commitment to strengthen international health efforts to resolve these issues, including promotion of quality infrastructure investment, strengthening resilience to natural disasters (disaster reduction), and improving access to quality health care services (universal health coverage). The meeting reaffirmed JICA’s commitment to strengthen its international health initiatives, including the promotion of quality infrastructure investment, strengthening resilience to natural disasters (disaster prevention), and improving access to quality healthcare services (universal health coverage).
The CORE Partnership was concluded between the IDB and JICA in 2011, and the two organizations have cooperated in the fields of renewable energy, energy conservation, water, sanitation, and health, etc. As of the end of 2023, JICA has provided a cumulative total of 20 yen loans and overseas loans (about 2.4 billion dollars) to 9 countries in the region as cofinancing with the IDB. As of the end of 2023, JICA has provided a cumulative total of 20 yen loans (about US$2.4 billion) to nine countries in the region as cofinancing with the IDB.
JICA will continue to promote development cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean through further cooperation with the IDB Group.
(Note 1) The IDB Group consists of the following three institutions. (1) IDB is an international development finance institution established in 1959 to contribute to the economic and social development of Latin America and the Caribbean, and currently has 48 member countries. IDB Invest is another name for the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC), which makes direct investments and loans to private companies for the purpose of contributing to economic development in the region. IDB Lab is another name for the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), which provides investment, loans, and technical cooperation to start-ups and other companies to promote innovation by the private sector.
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