aug-2017c

16 17 T op executives from the Inter-Amer- ican Development Bank (IDB) visited Belize recently to discuss with key government officials and representatives of the private sector ways of deepening their partnership and cooperation to ensure the country’s sustainable develop- ment. IDB Executive Vice President, Julie Katzman, accompanied by IDB Country Representative, Cassandra Rogers, and Annette Killmer, a key advisor in the bank’s climate change and sus- tainable development sector, met with Prime Minister, Dean Barrow, and members of the Cabinet during a three-day visit. The IDB executives and specialists also participated in a high-level panel discus- sion, “Partners in Sustainable Development Forum,” co-organized by the bank and the Belizean government as part of a year-long celebration of the country’s 25th anniversary of IDB membership. In her closing remarks at the forum, which was attended by more than 70 representa- tives of Belize’s public and private sectors as well as civil society, Katzman emphasized the need for careful, long-term planning to en- sure that the country takes full advantage of its unique reserve of natural resources, biodi- versity, and cultural heritage while protecting OPENING LINES PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS DISCUSS WAYS TO ENSURE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN BELIZE