Washington – The Inter-American Bank (IDB) says the Americas Business Dialogue (ABD), a mechanism for advancing a public-private dialogue on public policies, has released a series of recommendations that seek to support regional governments in their health and economic response to the emergency of the coronavirus (COVID-19).
The IDB said the 17 measures proposed by ABD is found in the document, “Policy Recommendations on Addressing the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic and Mitigating Its Impacts”.
The Washington-based financial institution said the recommendations pursue two objectives: “First, to ensure that the private sector can continue to efficiently supply critical goods and services, such as medical devices, medicines, food, energy, financial services, and access to the digital tools that enable citizens to remain informed and connected to each other.
“Second, to ease the burden of the economic impact of the pandemic, particularly to support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), protect jobs, and lay the groundwork for strong economic recovery.”
Among the proposals, the IDB said the recommendations ask governments to ensure that international trade and investment flows continue uninterrupted and to protect global and regional supply chains.
“These recommendations are the result of the ideas and proposals for potential solutions to face the pandemic made by the private sector associations in the region and more than 300 companies that make up the ADB,” the IDB said.
As part of this effort, it said members of the initiative discussed the proposals in a videoconference on March 31.
The IDB said the recommendations complement the report, “Action for Growth: Policy Recommendations and 2018-2021 Action Plan for Growth in the Americas”, which also “offers solutions to face the current challenges in the region.”
The ABD is a private sector driven initiative that it facilitates.
“It was created in 2014 to foster a public-private dialogue on the priorities, challenges and opportunities for economic growth and development in the Americas”, including the Caribbean.”
The ABD is also the mechanism for private sector participation in the Summit of the Americas process.
(CMC)