Editing Caribbean Development Bank (section)

== History ==
The Caribbean Development Bank was established by an agreement between sixteen members of the [[Commonwealth of Nations]] in the [[Caribbean]] region, along with [[Canada]] and the [[United Kingdom]]. Signed on October 18, 1969, in [[Kingston, Jamaica|Kingston]], [[Jamaica]], the Agreement entered into force on January 26, 1970 when 15 of the 18 signing states [[Ratification|ratified]] it. <ref name=":02">Ingham, Barbara, and Mark Figueroa. “W. Arthur Lewis and the Legacy of the Caribbean Development Bank.” ''Journal of Eastern Caribbean Studies'', vol. 34, no. 4, Dec. 2009, pp. 1–20. Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies, University of the West Indies. <nowiki>https://www.jecsonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/JECS-Vol-34-No.-4-Dec-2009.pdf</nowiki>.</ref> The bank's initial capital was 50 million USD, equivalent to 100 million [[Eastern Caribbean dollar]], with main contributions from Jamaica (11,200,000 USD and 19.52% of votes), and the United Kingdom and Canada contributing 10,000,000 USD each with 17.55% of votes in bank.<ref>Tomanović, M. (1971). ''Hronika međunarodnih događaja 1970''. [[Belgrade]]. Institute of International Politics and Economics Archived 2018-08-16 at the [[Wayback Machine]], p.2201. (in [[Serbo-Croatian]])</ref>

The bank was created with the purpose of promoting sustainable economic growth and reducing poverty in the region, aligning with [[W. Arthur Lewis]]'s vision of economic development. <ref>Wood, Anthony, and Anya Lewis. “Risk Culture Development and Its Impact: The Case of the Caribbean Development Bank.” ''International Journal of Business and Economic Development'', vol. 6, no. 1, Mar. 2018, pp. 18–24. Academy of Business and Retail Management. <nowiki>https://ijbed.org/cdn/article_file/content_48979_18-04-04-07-11-25.pdf</nowiki>.</ref> During the first meeting of governors in Nassau, Lewis, who was an economist, was appointed the first president of the Caribbean Development Bank. His leadership was essential to establishing the bank's operations, emphasizing the importance of financial discipline and efficiency in development through agriculture and infrastructure projects. At this time, the bank aimed to reduce economic disparities among its member states by using soft loans to finance public works and agricultural development in the less developed states. <ref name=":02" />

Lewis set the CDB's independence up by retaliating against political interference in the financial decisions of the bank. He also ensured there would be efficient administration and a focus on the Caribbean states to become a key financial instrument for the countries that lacked access to international financial institutions. Lewis also played a key role in building strong relationships with other international organizations like the [[Inter-American Development Bank|Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)]] and USAID that helped the bank gain legitimacy and credibility.<ref name=":02" />