Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) President Luis Alberto Moreno on Thursday called for support for the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Latin America and the Caribbean amid the global financial storm.

The SMEs have played an important role in the economy and they must receive the help they need, said Moreno during the annual meeting of governors assembly in Medellin, the second largest city in Colombia.

Moreno noted the IDB has tripled the credits for the SMEs in the last three years, from US$1.3 billion in 2005 to US$3.5 billion in 2008.

The SMEs are the most vulnerable sector in the international economic crisis, however they represent 60 percent of the employment in Latin America, he said.

Mexican businessman Juan Enriquez Cabot said many SMEs may not survive the current financial crisis due to insufficient support from banks.

"We must recognize that most of the SMEs will not survive," he said, calling for further support for the SMEs, which "will create an added value for their countries."

Enriquez suggested the governments reduce the "procedures" for the SMEs, so they can focus on more important areas to tackle the economic crisis.

The IDB Annual Meeting of Governors Assembly runs from March 27to March 31 in Medellin, 200 km northwest of Bogota.

The IDB group, founded in 1959 and headquartered in Washington D.C., is the oldest and largest regional inter-governmental development financial institution whose purpose is to promote economic and social development in Latin America and the Caribbean.

(Xinhua News Agency March 27, 2009)