OREANDA-NEWS. The Inter-American Development Bank today closed the 56th annual meeting of its Board of Governors, which featured a series of events that underscored the strengthening of ties between Asian, Latin American and Caribbean nations.

In her speech at the meeting’s inaugural session, Korean President Park Geun-hye proposed three new partnerships to guide cooperation between her country and Latin America and the Caribbean: expanding development cooperation to high added-value areas; establishing a common market for the free movement of people, goods and capital; and sharing development knowledge and experiences for mutual prosperity.

In addition, the Korean president announced that her country will establish a \$100 million fund for infrastructure investments in the region and provide up to \$1 billion in bilateral financing for projects in the region.

The Board of Governors is the IDB’s top decision-making body. Its members are finance ministers, central bank presidents and other high-level authorities from the Bank’s 48 member countries.

During their deliberations, the governors approved a resolution to consolidate the IDB Group’s private sector-related activities.

The governors also approved an update of the IDB’s institutional strategy for 2016-2019. The governors instructed the Bank’s management to prepare an action plan with specific targets for the strategy’s implementation over the next four years.

The governors reviewed the IDB’s 2014 activities. Last year the Bank approved a total of \$13.6 billion in loans and guarantees and \$214 million in grants for Haiti, confirming its role as the leading source of long-term financing for Latin America and the Caribbean.

In terms of volume, 42 percent of the new financing was approved for projects involving institutional development, such as state modernization and reform. Infrastructure projects, in sectors such as transport, energy, and water and sanitation, received 38 percent of the resources. Social sectors, such as health and education, received 16 percent, while the balance went to trade and integration projects.