IDB drafts two-year Venezuela plan focused on power and social needs
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IDB drafts two-year Venezuela plan focused on electricity and social needs |
NEW YORK — September 21, 2026
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is preparing a two-year engagement plan for Venezuela that will focus partly on electricity and social protection, IDB President Ilan Goldfajn said on Monday.
Goldfajn said the development bank has begun re-engaging with Venezuela and is sending missions to assess the country's situation. The work includes reviewing the macroeconomic framework, examining economic data and identifying areas where the bank could support the country over the next two years.
The IDB is the largest development lender in Latin America and the Caribbean. It has 48 member countries, including 26 borrowing members in the region.
The bank stopped approving new loans for Venezuela in May 2018 after the country fell behind on its payments. It still has about $2 billion in outstanding loans to Venezuela.
Goldfajn did not provide details on how Venezuela's unpaid obligations to the bank would be handled or when new financing could resume. He said the current work remains focused on planning and engagement with Venezuelan officials and on assessing conditions through missions to the country.
The IDB is also examining Venezuela's broader economic framework and the needs of individual sectors. Goldfajn said the bank was not currently preparing a separate debt-sustainability analysis for Venezuela, but was instead assessing the country's macroeconomic situation and sector requirements.
The planned engagement comes as the IDB evaluates how it could work with Venezuela after years without new lending. Any future financing would depend on the bank's assessment of the country's circumstances and the handling of its outstanding obligations.
