CAF approves Barbados’ transition into a new member country

The Extraordinary Shareholders' Meeting of CAF -Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean- approved the conditions for Barbados to become a Series "A" shareholder, the highest level of CAF membership.

With this approval, Barbados moves forward in the process to become a CAF member country, which will facilitate a greater allocation of financing for its development and a seat on the Board of Directors. Following Trinidad and Tobago's conversion in 2016, Barbados will become the second CAF member country from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

"The addition of Barbados as a CAF member country is an honor and a demonstration of Barbados' confidence in CAF and our growing development assistance to the Caribbean," said Sergio Diaz-Granados, CAF's executive president. "Under the leadership of Prime Minister Mia Mottley, Barbados has established itself as a global voice for climate action, with a very ambitious resilience agenda. By becoming a full member country of the institution, we will be able to expand the technical and financial support we provide to the country and more efficiently accompany its development priorities."

As part of its growing commitment to the country, CAF will consolidate its presence with an office in Bridgetown, which will not only serve Barbados, but will also extend its support to other countries in the Eastern Caribbean, leveraging CAF's full range of financial instruments and technical expertise to provide dedicated development assistance.

Barbados has been a CAF shareholder since 2014. The country is also leading efforts under the Bridgetown Initiative to address global climate finance reform. In line with this, CAF has committed USD 15 million to support the Blue-Green Bank initiative, a key proposal put forward by Barbados to mobilize climate finance as well as support for the blue economy and green transitions in Caribbean SIDS.