II. INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK A. Description_. B. Articles of Agreement Establishing the Inter-American Development C. Inter-American Development Bank Act. Provision against providing funds of the Bank for countries which D. Social Progress Trust Fund Agreement. Page 71 73 100 106 108 1. Protocol to the Social Progress Trust Fund Agreement, February 116 2. Protocol to the Social Progress Trust Fund Agreement, Septem- 117 (69) A. DESCRIPTION OF THE INTER-AMERICAN 1 DEVELOPMENT BANK 1 Headquarters: 808 Seventeenth Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20577. Phone 202-393-4171 President.-Antonio Ortiz Mena. CREATION AND AUTHORITY The Agreement establishing the Inter-American Development Bank came into effect in December 1959, when it was accepted by 19 Latin American Republics and the United States, and the Bank commenced operations on October 1, 1960. The United States became a member by virtue of the Inter-American Development Bank Act (73 Stat. 299; 22 U.S.C. 283 note). Trinidad and Tobago became a member in 1967, and Barbados and Jamaica in 1969. PURPOSE The purpose of the Bank is to promote the economic development of its member countries, individually and collectively. ORGANIZATION Basic powers of the Bank are vested in a Board of Governors consisting of one Governor appointed by each member country. Responsibility for actual operations of the Bank rests with a Board of Executive Directors, which has seven members chosen by the Bank's member countries. The voting power of the member countries is approximately proportionate to their subscriptions to the ordinary capital. The President of the Bank, elected by the Governors, is ex officio chairman of the Board of Executive Directors and, under the direction of the Board, conducts the ordinary business of the Bank and is chief of its staff. ACTIVITIES The Bank may make loans to either governmental or private entities. Loans generally are made for specific projects, but also may be granted to development banks and institutions in member countries for relending for projects not large enough to warrant direct credits from the Bank. Loans to private borrowers are made with an appropriate guarantee. The Bank provides technical advice and assistance in preparing, financing, and executing development plans and projects, including the consideration of priorities and the formulation of loan proposals on specific national or regional development projects. Source: U.S. Government Organization Manual, 1970/71. Washington, D.C., U.S. Government Printing Office, 1970. p. 585-586. The Bank also administers the Social Progress Trust Fund under an agreement executed between the United States Government and the Bank on June 19, 1961. The Trust Fund is used for loans for projects or programs designed to achieve improved conditions in the fields of land settlement and improved land use, housing for low income groups, community water supply and sanitation facilities, and supplementary financing of facilities for advanced education and training related to economic and social development. The Bank also administers funds for other countries, including Argentina, Canada, Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Norway, and the Vatican, for the economic and social development of Latin America. Technical assistance may also be provided. As of December 31, 1970, the Bank had authorized 662 loans totalling $4,068,624,000, net of cancellations and exchange adjustments, in such varied fields as agriculture, industry and mining, water supply and sewerage systems, electric power, transportation and communications, housing, education, pre-investment, and export financing. B. ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING THE INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK The countries on whose behalf this Agreement is signed agree to create the Inter-American Development Bank, which shall operate in accordance with the following provisions: ARTICLE I. PURPOSE AND FUNCTIONS Section 1. Purpose The purpose of the Bank shall be to contribute to the acceleration of the process of economic development of the member countries, individually and collectively. Sec. 2. Functions (a) To implement its purpose, the Bank shall have the following functions: (i) to promote the investment of public and private capital for development purposes; (ii) to utilize its own capital, funds raised by it in financial markets, and other available resources, for financing the development of the member countries, giving priority to those loans and guarantees that will contribute most effectively to their economic growth; (iii) to encourage private investment in projects, enterprises, and activities contributing to economic development and to supplement private investment when private capital is not available on reasonable terms and conditions; (iv) to cooperate with the member countries to orient their development policies toward a better utilization of their resources, in a manner consistent with the objectives of making their economies more complementary and of fostering the orderly growth of their foreign trade; and (v) to provide technical assistance for the preparation, financing, and implementation of development plans and projects, including the study of priorities and the formulation of specific project proposals. (b) In carrying out its functions, the Bank shall cooperate as far as possible with national and international institutions and with private sources supplying investment capital. ARTICLE II. MEMBERSHIP IN AND CAPITAL OF THE BANK Section 1. Membership (a) The original members of the Bank shall be those members of the Organization of American States which, by the date specified in Article XV, Section 1(a), shall accept membership in the Bank. 83-8770 0-72 |