The Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have expanded their development partnership to $6.5 billion, expected to generate approximately $7.5 billion in additional resources, for a combined $14 billion in financing for Latin America and the Caribbean, according to a press release by the IDB. The agreements were signed during IDB Group President Ilan Goldfajn’s visit to Tokyo to mark the 50th anniversary of Japan’s membership in the IDB. The new framework adds critical minerals and agriculture as strategic areas of cooperation. A new memorandum of cooperation (MoC) with JICA and Japan’s Ministry of Finance will also support health and care systems across the region. The renewed framework reaffirms a long-standing alliance between Japan and the region.
The signed agreements increase co-financing under the Cooperation for Economic Recovery and Social Inclusion (CORE) framework from $4 billion to $5 billion. They also raise the ceiling of the Trust Fund Achieving Development of Latin America and the Caribbean (TADAC) from $1 billion to $1.5 billion for private-sector investment. Created in 2011, CORE supports co-financing and co-investment in areas including infrastructure, disaster-risk reduction and resilience, global health, poverty reduction, and climate-shock mitigation for non-sovereign operations. It also supports coordinated JICA and IDB Lab co-investments in venture funds backing innovative companies and entrepreneurial ecosystems. The framework has become a central instrument of Japan-IDB cooperation.
Under the new agreement, CORE’s financing target rises to $5 billion through 2031, with agriculture and critical minerals added as new areas of cooperation. These additions reflect Latin America and the Caribbean’s growing role as a global supplier of food, energy-transition inputs, and critical minerals essential to batteries, electric vehicles, and other strategic industries. Since its creation in 2025, TADAC has deployed $401 million across 12 projects in nine countries through IDB Invest, the IDB Group’s private-sector arm. IDB Invest is currently reviewing 19 additional transactions totaling $589 million. The MoC on health and care 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 the regional IDB Cares initiative.
“Japan has been one of the IDB Group’s closest and most trusted partners in advancing development across Latin America and the Caribbean,” said President Goldfajn. He added that the IDB Group connects Japanese financing, expertise, and innovation with public- and private-sector efforts to accelerate sustainable growth. JICA President Akihiko Tanaka said the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean are important partners for Japan, sharing universal values and serving as key suppliers of resources and food. Tanaka noted that JICA will continue to work closely with the IDB Group to translate the frameworks into concrete development impacts. Both leaders emphasized inclusive and sustainable growth across the region.
The CORE and TADAC agreements and the new MoC are part of a broader package marking 50 years of partnership between the IDB Group and Japan. The package establishes the $30 million Japan Resilience Initiative within the Japan Special Fund, for critical minerals and other uses. It creates a new risk-transfer instrument using NEXI loan insurance to cover an IDB-guaranteed loan. It also renews a memorandum of understanding with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and includes a new MoC with Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism to advance resilient, high-quality infrastructure. Together, these instruments consolidate a cooperation package designed for the next 50 years.