Vienna as a Bridge to Latin America: Austria Becomes a Pioneer Donor for Urban Development
In a groundbreaking round of consultations, Austria has consolidated its role as a strategic partner to Latin America. The Republic is the world's first donor to support the Inter-American Development Bank's (IDB) new “Cities and Regions” program. This positions Vienna as a central hub for sustainable urbanization and economic cooperation shortly before the IDB's major annual meeting in Paraguay.
afael Mariano Gross (r.), IAEA Director-General, met with Ilan Goldfajn (l.), President, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), during his official visit to Vienna. / Picture: © Flickr / Dean Calma / IAEA Images [CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.de)]
Vienna was the venue for the IDB Group's annual consultations with its non-regional member states. The focus was on preparations for the annual meeting in Paraguay in March 2026 and the impressive results of the past year: with a record volume of US$35 billion in total financing, 2025 marked a historic high for the bank.
Great meeting with @rafaelmgrossi, Director General of the @iaeaorg, on strengthening cooperation to advance energy security and resilience in Latin America and the Caribbean—through knowledge exchange, institutional readiness, and capacity building, including on emerging… pic.twitter.com/z9dAcL3lB6
— Ilan Goldfajn (@igoldfajn) January 23, 2026
Fighting cancer with #RaysOfHope, strengthening food security through #Atoms4Food, tackling plastic pollution with #NUTECplastics, and exploring nuclear power following recent agreement with the @WorldBank to unlock financial support are all concrete areas where @IAEAorg and… pic.twitter.com/OstPDTCWod
— Rafael Mariano Grossi (@rafaelmgrossi) January 23, 2026
Austria doubles its commitment to "smart cities
Finance Minister Markus Marterbauer, who has been focusing more on socially just and sustainable economic policy since taking office in March 2025, announced in Vienna a contribution of US$2 million to the “IDB for Cities and Regions” initiative. This makes Austria the first international donor to this program.
Launched in 2025, the program aims to make Latin American cities more resilient through direct financing and technical expertise. It focuses on mobilizing capital for urban infrastructure, strengthening the fiscal capacities of regions, and building resilience to climate change.
Economic focus: “BID for the Americas”
Parallel to the diplomatic talks, the “BID for the Americas” program was launched in Austria. In cooperation with the Ministry of Finance and Advantage Austria, domestic companies are to be more closely involved in projects in the areas of energy transport, digital infrastructure, and logistics. IDB President Ilan Goldfajn emphasized that the focus is now shifting from “vision to action” and that the aim is to promote cooperation on critical minerals and the agreement between Mercosur and the EU in particular.
Another highlight of the Vienna Days is the cooperation with the Zero Project. In a high-level event, experts from the IDB Lab and Austrian government representatives will discuss innovative financing models to give people with disabilities better access to jobs and mobility. This underscores Vienna's reputation as a global pioneer in accessibility and social innovation.