Austria Hosts IDB Group Non-Regional Members and Announces Contribution as First Donor to IDB Cities and Regions Program

VIENNA - The Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB Group) convened its annual consultations with non-regional member countries in Vienna, as part of preparations for the IDB and IDB Invest Annual Meetings scheduled for March 11-14, 2026, in Paraguay.

During the consultations, Austria announced a contribution of $2 million to the IDB's Cities and Regions program, becoming the first donor of the initiative. Austria has been a long-standing partner on urban development. This new contribution nearly doubles its total support for IDB urban and subnational initiatives since 2019.

Launched in 2025, the IDB Cities and Regions Program supports cities across Latin America and the Caribbean through direct financing, technical assistance, and credit-enhancement tools to prepare bankable projects, strengthen fiscal and institutional capacity, and mobilize capital for urban services, infrastructure and resilience.

The consultations in Vienna reviewed the IDB Group's work in 2025, where it delivered record scale and finance. The IDB group reached $35 billion in total financing, including $20 billion in public-sector operations - the highest level since 2019 - and a new all-time-high $13 billion in private-sector commitments. Discussions also focused on IDBs move from vision to action in reforms, including through modernizing the Bank's lending policies, and 2026 priorities including critical-mineral framework and enhancing relationship between the region and non-regional partners.

"Last year was a record year - highest ever financing, more quality and impact of our projects and processes, and record external recognition of our work. We are moving now from vision to action on the reforms, concentrating on execution and implementation, and looking at priorities ahead - critical minerals, Mercosur-EU, support for countries in economic transition, among others - as we head toward our Annual Meetings in Paraguay", said IDB Group President Ilan Goldfajn. "Austria's role as the first donor to the IDB Cities and Regions program signals the importance of subnational projects with our non-regional members."

In 2025, the IDB Group received multiple external recognitions, including LatinFinance's MDB of the Year Award; the International Knowledge Management Award; BlueMark's independent verification of IDB Invest's Impact Management Framework; IJGlobal's Securitization Deal of the Year for Scaling4Impact; Environmental Finance's Sustainable Debt Awards for debt-for-nature transactions in Ecuador and The Bahamas; and several LatinFinance awards for bonds, infrastructure financing, and DFI-backed deals.

Tomorrow, on the margins of the consultations, the IDB Group, together with Austria's Federal Ministry of Finance and Advantage Austria, will launch BID for the Americas in Austria. The program connects Austrian firms and investors with projects in Latin America and the Caribbean, with an initial focus on energy transmission, digital infrastructure, and logistics. The launch will feature President Goldfajn, IDB Invest CEO James Scriven, and Austria's Federal Minister of Finance Markus Marterbauer.

Also tomorrow in Vienna, IDB Lab will host a high-level event with President Goldfajn, IDB Lab CEO Graham Macmillan, representatives of the Government of Austria, and governors from non-regional member countries, in partnership with Zero Project, to discuss financing models and public-private partnerships to expand access to jobs, services, and mobility for persons with disabilities.