The Bahamas has formally taken over as Chair of the Caribbean Development Bank’s (CDB) Board of Governors, pledging to prioritize local weather resilience and bolster regional catastrophe response efforts throughout its one-year tenure.
The announcement got here in the course of the closing ceremony of the CDB’s fifty fifth Annual Assembly, held final week in Brasília, Brazil. Delivering remarks on behalf of the incoming Chair, Minister of Financial Affairs and CDB Governor for The Bahamas, the Honourable Michael Halkitis, Parliamentary Secretary Wayde Watson reaffirmed the nation’s dedication to advancing sustainable growth all through the Caribbean.
“We’re significantly happy to work with the Financial institution on ongoing efforts to strengthen catastrophe response programs and construct sustainability within the face of local weather change,” Watson said, highlighting The Bahamas’ alignment with the Financial institution’s strategic give attention to constructing resilient establishments for a greener, stronger, and extra inclusive Caribbean.
Having confronted devastating hurricanes and rising sea ranges, The Bahamas enters the chairmanship with a novel perspective on local weather vulnerability. Watson additionally pointed to Prime Minister the Honourable Philip Edward Davis’ management on local weather adaptation and finance as additional proof of the nation’s deep engagement on the problem.
“The Caribbean is among the many areas most affected by local weather change, dealing with adaptation challenges that particular person nations can not—and I repeat, can not—adequately tackle alone,” Watson stated. “Multilateral establishments just like the CDB are essential in coordinating and funding options tailor-made to the area’s wants.”
The CDB’s Annual Assembly is its highest decision-making physique, bringing collectively representatives from its 28 member nations. This 12 months’s assembly was chaired by Ms. Viviane Vecchi Mendes Muller, Brazil’s Deputy Secretary for Worldwide Affairs and Improvement, and convened a variety of stakeholders—together with senior authorities officers, growth finance leaders, and private-sector actors—to sort out points like financial resilience, poverty alleviation, and local weather motion.
As Chair, The Bahamas will steer the Financial institution’s agenda over the following 12 months and is about to host the 56th Annual Assembly in Nassau in June 2026.
