Manuel Labrado, the country representative of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) notes that he has seen an improvement in the international issues over the last few months, and he added that there have been improvements in terms of austerity, transparency and fulfilling the law. He told Mayelin Acosta of Hoy newspaper that in the five years he has been in the Dominican Republic he has seen a substantial improvement in institutionalism. He was especially impressed with the planning that went into the National Development Strategy (END) and the increased transparency in government contracts. Labrado said that the IDB has approved over US$1.5 billion in loans, mostly for the public sector, with 15% going to the private sector for infrastructure improvements.