A senior official of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is visiting the Caribbean as the region prepares for its participation in the United Nations Climate Conference (COP 27) that starts in Egypt later this month.
IMF Deputy Managing Director, Bo Li, is focusing on the discussion on climate change, climate financing, and how the Washington-based financial institution can help in the run-up to the November 6-18 conference in Egypt.
“The IMF is confident about the region’s commitment to build resilience. While several countries in the Caribbean have made significant progress on resilience to natural disasters, progress remains uneven. Given the large amount of investment required, building resilience will require at least a decade of investments in most small island states,” Li told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).
Li said his trip will build on the visit earlier this year by IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva to the Caribbean to buttress the positive collaboration between the IMF and countries in the region.
Li arrived in Dominica on Monday and will meet with Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit and his Cabinet, visit the geothermal plant, resilient housing projects, and meet with local stakeholders including academia, private sector, and youth and women representatives, before departing on Wednesday, when his visit to The Bahamas commences.
On his visit to The Bahamas, Li will meet with Prime Minister Philip Davis to discuss climate change, visit Abaco to view the effects of Hurricane Dorian and reconstruction efforts as well as participate in the 59th Bi-Annual Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Central Bank Governors meeting, hosted by the Central Bank of The Bahamas.
Li told CMC that both The Bahamas and Dominica are extremely vulnerable to natural disasters recalling the devastation caused by Hurricane Dorian in 2019 and Hurricane Maria in 2017, respectively.
“The visit will provide an opportunity to see firsthand the progress that is being made by the two countries and how climate change is affecting them and the importance of building resilient economies,” Li said.
He pointed out that In Dominica, he will visit several projects implemented under the country’s Disaster Resilience Strategy, adopted in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. In The Bahamas, he will visit some of the sights that suffered the devastation of recent hurricanes and a project that focuses on coral restoration.
“The Caribbean is facing tough conditions as a result of climate change,” Li said, adding that the recent natural disasters in Dominica and The Bahamas had enormous human and economic costs.
“Given the small size of these countries, the impact has been large in relation to the size of the economies, as natural disasters affect the entire territory.”
He said the IMF has drawn important lessons from the natural disasters that affect the Caribbean region, including those that affected The Bahamas and Dominica and these lessons have helped to inform the IMF’s policy advice.
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