• Expanded package, now reaching $6.5 billion in resources from Japan, is expected to generate additional co-financing of approximately $7.5 billion, based on the average of the last years, totaling $14 billion in financing for Latin American and Caribbean.
  • Package also includes a $30 million non-reimbursable resilience initiative for critical minerals and other areas, and new agreements on risk-transfer, health and care, and resilient infrastructure.

TOKYO, Aug. 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB Group) and Japan celebrated 50 years of partnership today at the Japan-LAC Business Forum 2026, strengthening business ties and exploring new trade and investment opportunities. They announced a historic cooperation package that expands resources from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to $6.5 billion, which is expected to generate additional co-financing of approximately $7.5 billion, based on the average of recent years – totaling $14 billion in financing for Latin America and the Caribbean. The package also establishes a $30 million non-reimbursable Japan Resilience Initiative for critical minerals and other areas; creates a new risk-transfer instrument using NEXI loan insurance for IDB loans; renews an agreement with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to identify co-financing opportunities; and adds two new agreements on health and care and infrastructure.

Co-hosted by the IDB Group and Japan’s Ministry of Finance, the Japan-LAC Business Forum brought together more than 1,000 registered participants and more than 400 companies from 24 countries. Government officials, business leaders, and investors joined sessions focused on seven high-impact areas: energy security and critical minerals, disaster-risk management, the silver economy, venture capital and innovation, digital transformation, agribusiness and food systems, and trade and investment integration.

As part of the Forum, a business matchmaking session generated more than 600 meetings, the largest of its kind organized by the IDB in Japan. In addition, seminars on public-private partnerships, digital government, and the IDB Group’s BID for the Americas program showcased projects and procurement opportunities in innovation, trade, transport, and energy.

The Forum also launched a new IDB report on Japan-LAC economic ties, Building on Fifty Years of Japan-IDB Partnership: Unlocking Complementarities for Economic Growth. Amid shifting global supply chains, the region is an increasingly strategic partner for Japan. Bilateral trade has grown more than ninefold over the past 50 years, from $7 billion in 1976 to $65 billion in 2025, according to the study.

“The first 50 years of our partnership laid a foundation, created ties, and built trust. In the next 50, we should transform those fundamentals into more business opportunities, investment, and trade,” said IDB Group President Ilan Goldfajn. “This new package of deals and agreements opens a new chapter in our partnership,” he added.

“Today, as the challenges facing our societies become increasingly complex and interconnected, areas of cooperation with mutual interests between Japan and Latin America and the Caribbean are expanding. To better address these common challenges, Japan and the IDB decided to establish the Japan Resilience Initiative,” said Japanese Minister of Finance Katayama Satsuki. “I hope that this Forum serves as a catalyst for greater engagement between Japanese businesses and Latin America and the Caribbean and lays the foundation for continued growth and prosperity on both sides.”

A Cooperation Package for the Next 50 Years

The new and more ambitious chapter of collaboration deepens the IDB Group’s partnership with Japan’s Ministry of Finance and expands financing and investment mechanisms with JICA to a total of $6.5 billion:

  • The JICA Cooperation for Economic Recovery and Social Inclusion (CORE) facility is increasing from $4 billion to $5 billion for co-financing, adding critical minerals and agriculture as new priorities, alongside existing areas such as quality infrastructure, disaster-risk reduction and resilience, and health.
  • The JICA Trust Fund Achieving Development of Latin America and the Caribbean (TADAC) with IDB Invest expands from $1 billion to $1.5 billion, making it JICA’s largest private-sector co-financing fund in the region. Since its creation last year, 11 transactions have closed, with 20 additional deals in the 2026 pipeline.
  • A new agreement on health and care systems with the Ministry of Finance and JICA will build on Japan's leadership in healthy aging and long-term care to strengthen health systems, advance digital health transformation, and support the expansion of IDB Cares.

This historic package also includes new deals and agreements:

  • The IDB Group and Japan are establishing the $30 million Japan Resilience Initiative (JRI) within the Japan Special Fund. The facility will support project preparation and implementation in critical minerals, quality infrastructure, agriculture, health, disaster resilience, and the silver economy, while helping mobilize larger co-financing operations.
  • A new risk-transfer instrument using Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) loan insurance will cover an IDB-guaranteed loan, opening the door for similar transactions in the future.
  • A renewed agreement with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) will help identify public and private-sector co-financing opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean, including critical minerals, sustainable infrastructure, energy transition, resilient supply chains, food security, and green finance.
  • A new agreement with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to bring Japan's expertise to resilient infrastructure — drawing on its global leadership in disaster preparedness, as well as its strengths in transport, housing, and water and sanitation. 

About the IDB Group

The Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB Group) is the leading source of financing and knowledge for improving lives in Latin America and the Caribbean. It comprises the IDB, which works with the region’s public sector and enables the private sector; IDB Invest, which directly supports private companies and projects; and IDB Lab, which spurs entrepreneurial innovation. 

Media contact:
Rafael Mathus
rmathusruiz@iadb.org
+1 (202) 623-1040