The small Central American and Caribbean nation of Belize is actively advancing its ambition to become a regional artificial intelligence leader, with top government officials lobbying to secure the right to host a newly proposed regional AI innovation hub. Speaking at the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) Board of Governors meeting held in Oviedo, Spain on June 26, Dr. Osmond Martinez, Belize’s Minister of State for Economic Transformation, made a forceful case for Belize as the optimal location for the planned hub, highlighting the country’s unique geographic and institutional advantages.\n\nThe proposed regional AI hub is a key initiative emerging from CABEI’s latest capital incrementation round, designed to boost digital and technological development across the Central American and Caribbean regions. Dr. Martinez emphasized that Belize holds a one-of-a-kind position in the region: it is the only country that maintains full membership in both the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Central American Integration System (SICA), allowing it to serve as a natural connectivity bridge between the two blocs. Complementing this institutional advantage, the country’s widespread proficiency in both Spanish and English eliminates critical language barriers for cross-regional collaboration, a major asset for a pan-regional knowledge and innovation center.\n\nBeyond lobbying for the hub, the Belizean government has already begun laying the foundational policy groundwork for national AI development. Dr. Martinez revealed that the administration has formally requested technical assistance from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to support the drafting of Belize’s first national AI policy framework, which will guide the country’s long-term AI regulation, innovation, and workforce development efforts. To build broader international support for its bid, Belize is also actively engaging with two major CABEI shareholders and global AI leaders: South Korea, which already hosts the IDB’s main global AI hub headquarters in Seoul, and Taiwan. Both economies are key stakeholders in CABEI, with South Korea also holding significant influence within the IDB, making their backing critical to Belize’s bid.\n\nIf successful, hosting the regional AI hub would deliver transformative benefits for Belize, according to projections from the government. The initiative would accelerate the country’s tech sector growth, create high-skill future-oriented employment opportunities for local workers, and position Belize at the center of regional AI innovation and collaboration. Dr. Martinez expressed confidence that with coordinated support from CABEI, the IDB, and key international partners South Korea and Taiwan, Belize can deliver on its ambitious vision to become the AI hub for both the Caribbean and Central America.