CAF and the CEC promote the creation of the Ibero-American Council for Competitiveness and Productivity

CAF, Development Bank of Latin America, and the Spanish Entrepreneurial Council for Competitiveness (CEC), worked jointly in the creation of the Iber-American Council for Competitiveness and Productivity, with both institutions signing a cooperation agreement. The signing of the agreement, held in Madrid, included the participation of CAF's Director for Europe, Guillermo Fernandez de Soto, and CEC's Director, Fernando Casado, accompanied by Enrique V. Iglesias, former General Secretary of the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB, for its acronym in Spanish), who was a witness of honor in the ceremony and a promoter of this initiative. 

The CEC is a think-tank made up by the main Spanish multi-national agencies that promote dialogue between the main leaders of these organizations, prepare studies, and contribute specific proposals that help in the economic recovery and strengthening of the international confidence in Spain. 

The Ibero-American Council for Competitiveness and Productivity aspires to become a platform where the large Ibero-American companies and financial institutions analyze, study, and engage in dialogue regarding issues that favor an improvement in competitiveness and productivity in the region, such as: education and development of talent, innovation, infrastructure, and logistics. The deficits in these matters in the countries of the region have been pointed out as relevant barriers for the competitiveness of the companies of the area. 

This initiative to promote competitiveness and productivity in the region will incorporate a maximum of 50 Ibero-American entrepreneurs; its Council will include the participation of CAF's Executive President, Enrique Garcia, the President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Luis Alberto Moreno, and the General Secretary of the OECD, Angel Gurria. The official members of the Council will be the Presidents or leading executives of the associated companies, which must represent all the relevant sectors of the Ibero-American economy. 

So far in 2014, CAF has signed agreement with the Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias (ADIF) (Administrator of Railroad Infrastructures), the Centro de Estudios y Experimentación de Obras Públicas (CEDEX) (Public Works Study and Experimentation Center), and the Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO) (Official Credit Institute). All these agreements are aimed at strengthening the development of Latin America and increasing its competitiveness levels through the shared experience of the Spanish enterprises.