Agence Wallonne à l’Exportation et aux Investissements Etrangers (AWEX) has contributed $2 million to support IDB’s Amazon Initiative.
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Agence Wallonne à l’Exportation et aux Investissements Etrangers (AWEX) of Belgium have formalized a new partnership to promote sustainable development in the Amazon. Through the signature of a new contribution agreement, AWEX has committed $2 million to the IDB's new Amazon Initiative. As part of the partnership, the IDB and AWEX will work to identify high-impact interventions in the Amazon Basin with a focus on innovation, digitalization, and entrepreneurship.
AWEX joins other strategic partners including Germany, the Netherlands, and the Green Climate Fund in pledging financial resources to the Amazon Initiative, which seeks to foster socio-environmentally sustainable and inclusive economic development models in the Amazon region that benefit its diverse communities.
Providing between 35% and 40% of Latin America’s freshwater, the Amazon is critical to ecosystems worldwide, regulating air quality, storing net carbon emissions, and regulating nutrient and hydrological cycles for the South American continent. The Amazon region is also home to more than 30 million people, including approximately 1.5 million indigenous people and more than 5 million Afro-descendants.
As such, the IDB’s Amazon Initiative promotes sustainable development models based on human capital, natural wealth, and the Amazon region’s cultural heritage. The initiative, which already has over $300 million in pledges from international donors and the IDB, will be implemented in close coordination with the Amazonian countries and the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO). The IDB’s newly created Amazon Unit will lead internal and external strategic coordination and implementation of the initiative’s financial instruments. The initiative is also designed in line with the IDB’s Vision 2025 agenda for spurring the region’s sustainable recovery and addressing climate action.
About the IDB
The Inter-American Development Bank is devoted to improving lives. Established in 1959, the IDB is a leading source of long-term financing for economic, social, and institutional development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IDB also conducts cutting-edge research and provides policy advice, technical assistance, and training to public and private sector clients throughout the region.
About AWEX
The Wallonia Foreign Trade and Investment Agency (AWEX) is the Wallonia - Region of Belgium’s government agency in charge of foreign trade promotion and foreign investment attraction. The agency has a worldwide network of more than 90 Economic and Trade offices. AWEX is actively engaged in promoting sustainable development and circular economy in Wallonia and around the world.
Alvarez-Rodriguez,Isabel M.
