Luis Alberto Moreno, born in Colombia, is a businessman and diplomat who served as President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for 15 years until 2020. He is a Board Member of the World Economic Forum, a member of the International Olympic Committee, a member of the leadership of the Partnership for Central America, and a member of the board of directors for Nu Holdings Ltd., and Dow. Mr. Moreno has been Managing Director of Allen & Co., a private investment bank, since 2021.
During his tenure at IDB, Mr. Moreno was responsible for strengthening the Bank’s financial position by optimizing the use of capital, creating private sector partnerships (IDB Invest) and innovation labs (IDB Lab), and promoting innovations to increase efficiency of the operation. He promptly responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by providing unprecedented assistance in the region.
Prior to the IDB, he served as Colombia’s Ambassador to the United States from 1998 to 2005, where he led bipartisan and bilateral aid initiatives, including Plan Colombia, a program to combat drug trafficking and promote social and economic recovery. Prior to his ambassadorship, he served in Colombia as Minister of Economic Development under the Gaviria administration and as head of the Institute for Industrial Development, a public sector holding company.
He holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the American Graduate School of International Management at Thunderbird University. He has received numerous honors for his leadership and public service, including Colombia’s highest honor, the Grand Cross of the Order of Boyacá, the Woodrow Wilson Public Service Award, the Clinton Global Initiative Global Citizen Award, and the Atlantic Council Leadership Award. In 2021 he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star of Japan.
In light of COVID and the situation in Ukraine, Latin America is also being affected by supply shocks. Furthermore, this has been accompanied by a “flight to quality,” leading to dollar appreciation and putting pressure on Latin American countries with large budget deficits and external debt. However, not all Latin American countries are in the same situation. South American countries, which are commodity producers and exporters, are in a different situation from importing countries such as Central America. Latin America has a good opportunity in the trend of supply chain restructuring, and the multilateral development banks (MDBs) such as the IDB should support the move to relocate production sites and respond creatively to the energy transition that is taking place globally. Furthermore, MDBs should strengthen their support for Latin America’s historically deep-rooted problems of inequality. Improving the quality of education and the labor market environment will be important for this.
Japan has been favorably received in Latin America, and I myself have many good memories of Japan. Japan’s support and trade relations brought development to Latin America.
I would like to express my sincere condolences on the passing of the late Prime Minister Abe, who showed a deep understanding of Latin America and compassion to the people in the region.
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Interview with Mr. Luis Alberto Moreno (Former President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB))