The Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) will establish its first country office in the Republic of Haiti later this year. Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Antonio Rodrigue and the Bank\u2019s Vice-President (Operations), Monica La Bennett, signed the Agreement on February 27, 2018 on the sidelines of the 29th Intersessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community in Haiti.<\/p>\n
La Bennett said<\/strong>\u00a0that the signing of the Country Agreement further cements the strong partnership between CDB and the Republic of Haiti.<\/p>\n \u201cLast year, CDB, in collaboration with the Government of Haiti, developed a country strategy plan for the period 2017 to 2021, with an indicative resource envelope of USD100 million to help Haiti meet its development priorities. The strategy focuses on three main themes: agriculture and community development, sustainable energy development and education and training. It is this deepening engagement between CDB and the Government of Haiti that has led us to conclude that there is a need for a country office. We expect that this will lead to the development of closer relationships with the Government and the people of this country, enabling CDB to be a more proactive, responsive development partner<\/em>,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n