Inter-American Development Bank drafts two-year plan for Venezuela

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is currently developing a two-year engagement plan for Venezuela, marking a shift toward re-engaging with the country. IDB President Ilan Goldfajn confirmed that the organization is actively sending missions to Venezuela to assess the nation's macroeconomic framework and gather data.

The proposed strategy focuses primarily on addressing critical social needs and stabilizing the country's electricity sector. According to the IDB, these areas have been identified as key priorities for the upcoming two-year period as the bank works to devise a formal engagement document.

The IDB, which serves as the largest development lender in Latin America and the Caribbean, suspended new lending to Venezuela in May 2018. This decision followed the country’s failure to maintain its payment obligations. Currently, Venezuela holds approximately $2 billion in outstanding loans with the institution.

While the bank is moving forward with its planning efforts, officials have not yet provided a timeline for when formal financing might resume. Furthermore, the process for addressing Venezuela's existing payment arrears remains undetermined at this stage.

Rather than conducting a formal debt-sustainability analysis at this time, the IDB is prioritizing a sector-by-sector assessment of the country's requirements. The bank continues to work directly with Venezuelan representatives to evaluate the situation and determine the most effective path for future cooperation.