BRIDGETOWN, Barbados May 13 – Heads of States, Ministers of Finance and high level representatives of 28 Caribbean countries will assemble in Montego Bay, Jamaica for the Forty-Sixth Annual Meeting of the Caribbean Development Bank’s (CDB) Board of Governors, on May 18 and 19.

The CDB is a regional financial institution established in 1970 for the purpose of contributing to the harmonious economic growth and development of member countries.

The Bank comprises 19 regional borrowing member countries – including Guyana and Suriname and four regional non-borrowing member countries – Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela. Members outside of the Caribbean are Canada, China, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom.

The Bank’s founding president was noted economist and Nobel Laureate, Sir Arthur Lewis, its current president is Dr. Warren Smith and the Chair of the Board of Governors is Audley Shaw, Jamaica’s Minister of Finance and Public Service.

At the Annual Meeting, the CDB will release its annual report that provides an overview of the region’s economic development and sector performance.

The Bank will also host a series of seminars in keeping with this year’s theme, “Economic Transformation for Growth and Poverty Reduction.”

The seminar topics seminar topics are:

• The Changing Nature of Poverty and Inequality in the Caribbean: New Issues, New Solutions
• Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development in the Caribbean: Towards a New Frontier
• Towards Greater Efficiency: The Transformation of the Caribbean Maritime Port Services Industry

The Annual Meeting will be preceded by the Seventeenth Annual William G. Demas Memorial Lecture on May 17, featuring keynote speaker, Rachel Kyte, Chief Executive Officer of Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) and Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for SE4ALL.

She will speak on, “Last Mile First – Building a Cleaner More Just Prosperity in Response to the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement”.

The seminars, William G. Demas Lecture, Opening and Closing Ceremonies as well as the News Conference will be streamed live via the Bank’s Annual Meeting website www.caribank.org/bog46. Persons may also receive live updates via Twitter and Facebook using #CDBBoG46.