Belmopan, September 16, 2022. 11:40 a.m.
Dr. Osmond Martinez, Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Economic Development and Belize’s National Designated Authority (NDA), presented at the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Global Conference for Programming in the Republic of Korea, on the topic of Accreditation and Partnership Modalities to Leverage GCF Financing.
CEO Martinez expressed that under the leadership of Prime Minister Hon. John Briceno, Belize’s political will is at its highest, moving away from a traditional economic system to a modern and innovative one. He further shared that Belize’s priorities for programming with the GCF are aligned with the country’s national strategies, such as the Medium-Term Development Strategy, the Climate Finance Strategy, the National Determined Contributions and the Blue Bond commitments, to name a few. These strategies facilitate the Government of Belize in identifying where investments and adaptations need to be made.
The CEO also reiterated to GCF the urgency to fast-track accreditation for national entities such as the Development Finance Corporation, the Belize Social Investment Fund and the Ministry of Economic Development. With accreditation, these entities can better serve the private sector in Belize, which will also impact micro, small and medium enterprises; act on developmental interventions across varying sectors of education, water, health and sanitation; and facilitate public sector climate investment projects.
Additionally, CEO Martinez emphasized that under the GCF, it is necessary to enable a friendly environment for academia to conduct scientific research, create policies using empirical data and produce scientific conclusions to mitigate the impact of climate change in Belize.
As the NDA, CEO Martinez will continue to work diligently in liaising with other line ministries and stakeholders to further develop strategic approaches for programming with the GCF and expressed that Belize looks forward to the continued partnership with the fund.
Ends
For more information, contact:
Dr. Osmond Martinez
Chief Executive Officer
Ministry of Economic Development
