By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, Nov 13 (Reuters) – The Inter-American Development Bank’s board unanimously approved a country engagement note for Venezuela on Friday, the bank’s first formal roadmap for renewed operations in the country since it halted new lending in May 2018.
The engagement note sets the bank’s priorities but is not itself a loan and does not clear Venezuela’s arrears. A country engagement note is a shorter, transitional form of the IDB’s conventional country strategy, intended to guide operations until a full strategy can be prepared.
Venezuela’s previous IDB strategy covered 2011-2014, and as per the bank’s rules any member lacking a current country strategy is ineligible for new loans and guarantees.
The Venezuelan government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The note prioritizes restoring growth drivers, with an emphasis on rehabilitating the electricity sector, improving social services for vulnerable groups, including social protection and food security, and supporting reconstruction after devastating earthquakes hit in June.
Earlier this week, Venezuelan lawmakers approved a reform to the South American country’s electricity law, opening up the power sector to sorely needed private investment after nearly two decades of state control.
Venezuela owed the IDB $2.3 billion in overdue principal and interest as of September 30. The bank’s rules prohibit new lending until the arrears are cleared. Reuters reported in October that Venezuela was considering a bridge loan from Qatar to repay the arrears.
In September, Reuters reported that IDB President Ilan Goldfajn was seeking support for a proposed $2.5 billion Venezuela loan but faced resistance from some board members.
(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos, additional reporting by Vivian Sequera; editing by Anthony Esposito)
