MIAMI – The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has selected Miami as the host city for the 49th annual meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank and the 23rd annual meeting of the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC) Boards of Governors to be held April 4-8, 2008.
Speakers at the press conference included Luis Alberto Moreno, president of the IDB; Clay Lowrey, U.S. Treasury assistant secretary for international affairs; Marco Rubio, speaker of the Florida House of Representatives; Mayor Manny Diaz, City of Miami; Commissioner Jerry Libin, City of Miami Beach; Commissioner Natacha Seijas, chair of the International Trade Consortium of Miami; Randy Quarles, managing director of the Carlyle Group; Jorge L. Arrizurieta, chairman of the IDB Miami 2008 Host Committee; and Mitchell Berger, finance chairman of the IDB Miami 2008 Host Committee.
“It makes great sense for the IDB to convene its most important meeting of the year in Miami,” said Luis Alberto Moreno, president of the IDB. “There is no other city in the U.S. that matches the spirit of Miami, and this spirit is due in large part to the great contribution of the many Latin American residents of this city.
Miami is the gateway to the Americas, and this is a great opportunity for the city and for the IDB.
Jorge L. Arrizurieta, former U.S. alternate executive director at the IDB and currently Chair of the International Policy Practice at Akerman Senterfitt, will serve as Chairman of the IDB Miami 2008 Host Committee. The group will be responsible for structuring and organizing the necessary fund-raising from both the public and private sectors and will coordinate with the IDB to ensure the operational success of this meeting. The IDB Host Committee plans to raise US$8 million from the public and private sector to support the infrastructure and ensure the success of the upcoming meeting.
“The selection of Miami is another crowning achievement in South Florida’s history of hosting internationally significant events,” Arrizurieta said. “The IDB and the region will be well served by choosing to meet in a community and state that for decades has been the business center for the Americas.”
“Miami competed to host this meeting and won, and I want to thank the business community for making this a reality,” said Clay Lowrey, U.S. Treasury assistant secretary for international affairs. “The IDB has been a true leader in finding practical solutions for bringing access to finance for people in Latin America.”
“It is a true honor that the IDB would choose Miami as the site for its annual meeting,” said Marco Rubio, speaker of the Florida House of Representatives. “What made this city take off is our strong relationship with Latin America and the Caribbean. Miami is the center of commerce and economic activity for the hemisphere, and this meeting only serves to solidify this position.”
“The private-public sector partnership will enhance the impact and outcome of this meeting and allow participants and this community to witness first hand the important accomplishments of the IDB throughout the hemisphere,” said Mitchell Berger, finance chairman for the IDB Host Committee. Arrizurieta and other private sector partners and the participating municipalities that make up the host committee, have begun the outreach to potential sponsors and supporters.
Miami, a city that is almost as much in Latin America as it is in the United States due to its position as a regional gateway and popularity with international visitors and residents, is home to more than 500 headquarters of some of the largest multinational companies who value South Florida for its close connections to Latin American and Caribbean markets. The last Boards of Governors annual meeting held in the United States took place in New Orleans in 2000 and prior to that in Miami in 1987.
“As mayor of the magic city, I’m honored that Miami was chosen as the headquarters for this meeting,” said Mayor Manny Diaz of the City of Miami. ”With cultural diversity as our strength, Miami is a vibrant and dynamic city which is the epicenter of Latin American business. Miami has opened itself to the world and the world has come to Miami.”
“We welcome the opportunity to showcase the diversity of our culture. Bienvenidos a nuestras playas (welcome to our beaches),” said Commissioner Natacha Seijas, chair of the International Trade Consortium of Miami.
“We are honored that the greater Miami region was selected as the site for the IDB meeting and we are especially honored that the meeting will be held in the Miami Beach convention center,” said Commissioner Jerry Libin of the City of Miami Beach. “Miami is the ideal location for this great effort as we have the necessary infrastructure and services.”
IDB Host Committee sets fund-raising goal of US$8 million
“This is a significant opportunity not just for Miami, but for the entire country,” said Randy Quarles, managing director of the Carlyle Group, and 2008 Miami Host Committee national co-chair. “The relationship with Latin America is important for the U.S. as a whole. The IDB enables this relationship to happen, and its investments in the region have created opportunities for Latin America and for shareholders of the IDB. ”
Miami resident and international pop artist Romero Britto will serve as the artistic director for the 2008 forum and also designed the forum’s logo which was unveiled at the press conference.
Britto, who is known for his colorful and optimistic cubist style and whose art is shown in more than 140 galleries around the world, has been commissioned by some of the world’s most important corporate brands and private art collectors during the past 20 years.
“I am extremely honored to have been selected by the IDB to serve as the artistic director of the Host Committee. This painting is a symbol of hope, and celebrates the efforts of these forty-seven countries of the Western Hemisphere coming together to foster growth and development around the world,” said Britto. “Art is so important in people’s lives, and I hope that my art can serve as the inspiration for high hopes and dreams of a better future for Latin America. This painting represents Latin America moving forward together with the whole world.”
The IDB was originally created as a partnership between 19 Latin American countries and the United States to foster sustainable economic growth and social development in Latin America and the Caribbean through its lending operations, leadership in regional initiatives, research and knowledge dissemination activities, institutes and programs. Today, 47 countries form part of the IDB.
Each year in late March or early April, the Boards of Governors of the IDB and the IIC meet in one of the bank’s member countries. The 2007 meeting was held March 16-20 in Guatemala City.
