Belize delegation helps shape next phase of landmark regional cooperation initiative.
Belmopan, April 21, 2026.
Belize was represented today at the ONE Caribbean Ministerial Dialogue, held in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The delegation included Mrs. Narda Garcia, Alternate Governor of Belize to the IDB and Chief Executive Officer, Office of the Prime Minister, Ministry of Investment and Civil Aviation, and Ms. Cinnamon Bottaro, Belize’s Representative on the Board of Directors at the IDB.
The Ministerial Dialogue brought together ministers, senior government officials, and development partners from across the Caribbean to take stock of the first two years of ONE Caribbean, the IDB Group’s flagship regional program, and to shape its next phase of programming through 2029.
Launched in 2024 at the request of the IDB Board of Governors, ONE Caribbean promotes sustainable development through practical, results-oriented regional cooperation across Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, The Bahamas, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. The program focuses on four critical areas: climate resilience and disaster risk management; citizen security; private sector development; and food security.
CEO Narda Garcia led the discussion on building safer communities, guiding a ministerial-level peer exchange on regional priorities for citizen security, including combatting transnational organized crime, protecting vulnerable populations, and strengthening cybersecurity across the region. In that capacity, she drew on Belize’s experience to help frame a forward-looking conversation on where regional cooperation can deliver the greatest impact for Caribbean citizens in the years ahead.
Belize also participated actively in discussions across all four thematic sessions, reflecting the country’s direct stake in ONE Caribbean’s work. Belize has benefited from the program’s infrastructure planning support, including the development of an updated National Transport Master Plan and a new Domestic Airports Master Plan. Belize is also among the countries identified as having strong potential to contribute to the region’s food security through expanded intra-regional agricultural trade.
The Ministerial Dialogue reaffirmed strong political commitment to ONE Caribbean and provided direction for deepening regional cooperation in its next phase. For Belize, continued engagement with the program’s Project Preparation Coordination Mechanism (PPCM), designed to transform project concepts into bankable, investment-ready proposals, remains a priority, alongside growing engagement in the citizen security and food security pillars.
The Government of Belize remains committed to the vision at the heart of ONE Caribbean: transforming the region’s shared vulnerabilities into collective resilience and sustainable prosperity.
Ends
