Southeastern NEWS
                                                       Southeastern Louisiana University
                                           Public Information Office
                                           SLU 10880, Hammond, LA 70402
                                           504-549-2341/fax 504-549-2061
                                           
    Date: May 15, 2000
      Contact:                           Rene Abadie or Christina Chapple      1

AGREEMENT SIGNED BETWEEN SOUTHEASTERN AND 
INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK (IDB)

     HAMMOND -- The Inter-American Development Bank, one of the world's largest multi-
national development institutions, reached its first cooperative agreement with a United States
university following commencement ceremonies for Southeastern Louisiana University in
Hammond on Saturday, May 13, 2000.
     The agreement was signed by IDB President Enrique V. Iglesias and Southeastern
President Sally Clausen. Iglesias was the keynote speaker at the university's commencement
ceremonies where he was also awarded an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree.
     The agreement is intended to promote and expand cooperative activities between IDB
member countries and Southeastern in the areas of social, economic, technological, educational
and cultural development. In addition, it supports and strengthens initiatives that encourage
youth leadership development, and builds on the IDB Youth Summit that was co-hosted by
Southeastern during the IDB's annual meeting in New Orleans in March.
     Clausen said the agreement is the first step in establishing a multi-national, educational
exchange program with Southeastern providing overall direction and leadership. The program
will involve the collective participation of various governmental organizations, private enterprise
and educational institutions.
     In signing the agreement, Iglesias said the partnership is an important instrument in
helping to develop the knowledge base that is so important for the economic and social
development of Latin America and the Caribbean. The region, he said, is one of the youngest in
the world, with approximately half the population of 500 million people under the age of 34.
                             -MORE-

IDB, SOUTHEASTERN PARTNERSHIP

     "It is very important that the IDB be involved in education and in helping our young
people to develop," he said. "Education is the basis of everything. When we speak about the
poverty of the region -- which is still very, very high -- when you speak about the inequalities
that still exist among the haves and the have-nots, then we realize that the only way to break the
vicious circle of poverty is through education and through partnerships such as this."
     The IDB is the oldest and largest regional multilateral development institution.
Established in 1959, the IDB was formed to help accelerate economic and social development in
Latin America and the Caribbean. Starting with an initial membership of 19 Latin American and
Caribbean countries and the United States, IDB membership now totals 46 nations. The IDB
currently finances projects representing a total investment of $240 billion.
                            - SLU -