With the assistance of an external advisory group and our Board of Executive Directors, in 1995 a plan was devised to restructure the Corporation and redirect its activities. Based upon this, the Board of Governors approved a three-year (1995-1997) operating plan to be followed by consideration of a capital increase. That three-year plan was successfully implemented, and during the 1998 annual shareholders meeting instructions were given to develop a formal request for a general increase in the Corporation's resources.

That request has been formulated in the context of the Blueprinted a few-Year Plan for the IIC. A vote on the proposed capital increase by IIC's shareholders is expected in 1999.
In addition, the efforts to attract IDB member countries that currently are not shareholders of IIC are bearing fruit. Following Denmark's entry in 1997 Suriname joined this year and applications for membership have been received from Belize, Canada, Finland, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden. The United Kingdom applied in January 1999, and Belgium is considering applying for membership. Strong shareholder support and new members will help the Corporation meet the increasing demand for its developmental services.