President Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday met with vice president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for Countries, Mr. Roberto Vellutini, one of the six most senior officials within the bank at the Office of the President where discussions focused on Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy and the bank’s support for the Amaila Falls Hydropower plant.
The flagship hydroproject will provide a transformational change in the competitiveness of Guyana’s businesses, eliminate a key barrier to direct foreign investment in Guyana’s economy, and enable an unprecedented reduction in the cost of electricity for citizens – while simultaneously enabling Guyana to switch from nearly 100% dependence on fossil fuel-based electricity generation to nearly 100% clean, renewable energy.

Prior to this position Mr. Vellutini, a Brazilian citizen, served as Manager of Infrastructure and Environment Department (INE) since July 2007. During his tenure at INE, he led the development and implementation of IDB’s operational programme in the areas of energy, transportation, water and sanitation, rural development, environment, tourism and disaster risk management.    
He was also responsible for successfully spearheading two of the Bank’s priority initiatives, namely the Water and Sanitation Initiative (WSI) and the Sustainable Energy and Climate Change Initiative (SECCI).