US$100b plan to build Latin America, Caribbean into geopolitical power
Published:Thursday | January 29, 2026 | 12:12 AMKimone Francis/Senior Staff Reporter
PANAMA CITY, Panama:
The CAF-Development Bank of Latin America has unveiled a US$100-billion expansion road map aimed at reshaping Latin America and the Caribbean from a global “pantry” into a geopolitical powerhouse.
CAF Executive President Sergio Díaz-Granados outlined the plan during the first plenary session of the 2026 International Economic Forum on Wednesday in Panama City, calling it a push to reverse the region’s cycle of poverty and informality.
Díaz-Granados, who was speaking against the backdrop of the Panama Congress bicentennial, disclosed that the regional development bank is expected to grow by 70 per cent over the next five years.
He said the ambitious surge is designed to position the region as the indispensable engine of the global energy and digital transitions, leveraging its vast mineral wealth and newly minted trade ties with the European Union to secure a seat at the head of the global table.
Calling the forum the most important event for the region in terms of mobilisation and alliances, with more than 6,000 registered participants from over 70 countries, the CAF head said it served as a space for thinking on how to provide countries in the region with the necessary coordination capacities, empowering the region and integration.
“Amidst fragmentation, we need spaces for reflection – broad, bold, and high-impact – to align positions, increase geopolitical prominence, and provide the region with its own voice that offers concrete solutions and paths of action,” he said.
“The current global panorama offers an unprecedented scenario for the region. We are experiencing a schism in the rules-based system. This system – imperfect, but one that provided a floor of certainty – is now opposed by another centred on interests and disputes over essential elements for the digital and energy transitions,” he said.
NAVIGATE REALITY
Noting the region’s more than 650 million inhabitants, incomparable biodiversity, its position as a pantry for global food security, and a source of metals and minerals required for artificial intelligence and the energy transition, Díaz-Granados said Latin America and the Caribbean must navigate this reality.
“Our region is not a marginal player, but a first-order actor on the global geopolitical chessboard. We believe the catalyst for opportunities lies in correcting secular imbalances: high informality, persistent poverty, unemployment, insecurity, sudden migrations, and the erosion of democratic institutions,” he said.
He said CAF has a key role to play with 24 shareholder countries, and is moving towards being the development bank with the greatest geographic presence in the region.
He also noted that CAF will, over the next five years, focus on three pillars: Boosting opportunities by concentrated work in both cities and rural sectors; becoming a closer partner by being a faster, more flexible bank adjusted to the needs of each country; and financial expansion by growing the bank by at least 70 per cent by 2031.
“This means nearly US$100 billion in new approvals, with at least 20 per cent mobilised to the private sector for development impact,” he said.
“We have enormous opportunities ahead, and we will seize them through a model of pragmatic integration. This week, we expect to finalise nearly 35 agreements with strategic partners to strengthen work in digital transformation, energy transition, security, trade, and sustainability.
“It is time to look upwards, with the mindset of a good ancestor who works with feet in the present and a heart for those not yet born,” he said.