PREFACE Over the past two decades, the Japanese Government and the Inter-American Development Bank have collaborated toward a mutual objective of promoting economic development and social progress in the Latin American and Caribbean Region. The success of this partnership is reflected in the different and flexible instruments created by the Japanese Government to further enhance the impact and effectiveness of grant resources entrusted to the Bank in support of its loan program. The Japan Special Fund (JSF) is the largest active trust fund at the IDB and the single most significant source of flexible, untied, external funding for IDB technical cooperation activities. Since its establishment in 1988, the Japan Special Fund has contributed to support the Bank’s strategy to improve the infrastructure stock of the countries, protect the natural environment and promote the productive sectors. The Japanese Trust Fund for Consultancy Services (JCF) facilitates, established in 1995, is another strong window to achieve the application of Japanese know-how and development experience to the challenges facing the developing countries of the Americas. During the 2005 Fiscal Year, the JSF team worked to promote the JSF Poverty Reduction Program (JPO) facility through an extensive consultation process with Bank’s specialists, which resulted in the significant amount of project approval through two innovative windows: the Community Based Program (CBP) and the Loan Enhancement Program (LEP). The CBP empowers local governments, NGOs, and communities to ensure that they become the architects of their own development through the identification of solutions to pressing social needs. The objective of the LEP is to enhance the quality of IDB loans by extending the coverage of poverty targeted activities, thereby raising the development impact of the loan operation. Due to the continuous support to answer the strong demand to tackle poverty alleviation issues, the term of JPO was extended by the Japanese Government until the end of 2010. The Japanese Funds are recognized and appreciated in the IDB for their relevance to the Bank’s core of activities. To effectively allocate the fund resources to obtain optimal technical cooperation with a strong development impact and effectiveness, a rigorous and efficient management will be conducted. Through Japanese Trust Funds, the IDB and Japan have continuously shared a common goal and long-term vision of supporting social and economic progress in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Goro Mutsuura Coordinator Japanese Trust Funds Washington D.C., June 2006