Thursday in Washington, DC, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has convened a meeting of finance ministers from the Western Hemisphere at its headquarters, a meeting attended by Wilson Laleau, the new Minister of Economy and Finance of Haiti.

At this meeting, Luis Alberto Moreno, President of the IDB, underscored the importance of working together to promote greater economic growth and competitiveness throughout the hemisphere. 3Latin America is doing well, but it could do better [...] The challenge now is to prevent this progress from being a temporary one. Particularly in the context of medium-term lower growth in developed countries, productivity improvements are key."

Jacob J. Lew, US Secretary of the Treasury, also addressed the group, emphasizing the importance of close cooperation among Western Hemisphere nations. "The United States has an important stake in the success of this hemisphere’s economies [...] While the countries of the Western Hemisphere still face challenges ahead, we are prepared to work together to confront these challenges, and there has been encouraging movement that we will continue to build upon."

Attended the meeting :

Jacob J. Lew, US Secretary of the Treasury,

Frank De Lima, Minister of Economy and Finance of Panama,

Mauricio Cárdenas Santa María, Minister of Finance and Public Credit of Colombia,

Luis Videgaray Caso, Secretary of Finance and Public Credit of Mexico,

Wilson Laleau, Minister of Economy and Finance of Haiti,

James Flaherty, Minister of Finance of Canada,

Hernán Lorenzino, Minister of Economy and Public Finances of Argentina,

Luis Miguel Castilla Rubio, Minister of Economy and Finance of Peru,

Edgar Ayales, Minister of Finance of Costa Rica,

Manuel Ferreira Brusquetti, Minister of Finance of Paraguay,

Larry Howai, Minister of Finance of Trinidad and Tobago,

Mario Bergara, President of the Central Bank of Uruguay.

HL/ HaitiLibre