The 50th annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) officially began on Sunday in Medellin, Colombia.

The agenda of the meeting is expected to focus on the current global economic crisis.

China, which became IDB's 48th member country in January this year, participated in the meeting for the first time.

The IDB members consist of two groups, namely the borrowers and the loaners. The 26 borrowing countries, all from Latin America and the Caribbean, hold 50.02 percent of direct votes in the organization, with the remaining votes in the loaners' hands.

Established in 1959, the IDB has so far approved projects in both public and private sectors worth some US$168 billion, and has also mobilized some US$375 billion of investments.

(Xinhua News Agency March 30, 2009)