ONLINE | 9th Spain - LAC Water Dialogues
The Water Dialogues are thematic discussion spaces organized annually with the objective of promoting the exchange of knowledge and experiences between Latin America and Spain on issues of interest to the water sector.
Event date:
November 28, 2023
Online

Based on the definition of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals targets, significant progress has been made to improve water security by increasing coverage of safe access to drinking water and sanitation, improving efficiency and increasing productive irrigation and family farming, as well as improving storm drainage and coastal protection infrastructure. Despite these efforts, the gaps still persist.
A recent CAF study conducted in thirteen countries concluded that it is necessary to invest an average of USD 36 billion per year until 2030 to meet the infrastructure needs for water security. This implies significant challenges in sectoral financing, in an environment of greater fiscal pressure in the countries derived from the COVID-19 pandemic, which calls for economic recovery and reactivation, as well as more inclusive growth and greater climate resilience.
In this context, countries must increase investments and improve efficiency in public spending, in which water plays a key role in achieving the SDGs. This requires innovative public and private financing mechanisms with high added value, incorporating new technologies and digitization of processes and "greener" solutions. Likewise, it is necessary to establish medium and long-term planning that outlines a prioritized roadmap for investments, under specific criteria governed by the inclusion and provision of infrastructure prepared to counteract the effects of climate change.
The 9th edition of the Water Dialogues aims to establish a dialogue around the challenges in financing the investments needed to meet the targets set out in SDG 6 and the SDGs related to water.
Date: November 28, 2023
Time: 3:30 p.m. (Madrid time)
*The event will be streamed on this microsite.
Agenda
Agenda
October 28, 2022
Registration
Opening Remarks
Speakers:

Hugo Morán
Secretary of State for the Environment, Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Spain

Christian Asinelli
Corporate Vicepresident of Strategic Programming, CAF -Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean-
Argentina

Gonzalo García Andrés
Secretary of State for the Economy and Business Support of Spain
Hugo Morán

Secretary of State for the Environment, Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Spain
Christian Asinelli

Corporate Vicepresident of Strategic Programming, CAF -Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean-
Argentina
Christian Asinelli is a political scientist from the Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina (UCA), has a Master's degree in Public Administration and Policy from the Universidad de San Andrés (UdeSA) and postgraduate degrees in Urban Economics (Universidad Torcuato Di Tella) and in Sociourbana Management (FLACSO). In 2019, he received his Ph.D in Political Science from the National University of San Martín (Argentina). During the last sixteen years he has been appointed in different roles in the public sector and the international arena: Alternate National Director of the State Modernization Project at the Chief of Staff of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Nation (2005); Deputy of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (2007-2010); Undersecretary of Evaluation of Projects with External Financing of the Chief of Staff of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Nation (2011-2014); Corporate Director of Institutional Development of CAF (2014-2017); President of the Fundación Banco Ciudad (2019) and Undersecretary of International Financial Relations for Development, Secretariat of Strategic Affairs, Presidency of the Nation. He was a Fellow of the Hubert Humphrey Fellowship Program (2010), the Special Program for Urban and Regional Studies-MIT (2011) and the Singularity University Executive Program (2017). He is the author of the books Buenos Aires: The city we have, the city we want (Buenos Aires, 2009); Modernization of the Argentine State: policies, management and professional scene (Buenos Aires, Edition, 2015) and Financing Development: The role of multilateral banking in Latin America (Buenos Aires, 2021).
Gonzalo García Andrés

Secretary of State for the Economy and Business Support of Spain
Degree in Economic Sciences with a specialty in Economic Theory, from the Autonomous University of Madrid. He has previously served as Managing Partner of Economics at Analistas Financieros Internacionales (AFI); Deputy Director General for International Trade in Services and Investments at the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness; Economic and Commercial Counselor of the Economic and Commercial Office of the Embassy of Spain in Washington D.C.; General Director of International Financing at the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Similarly, he has been Secretary of the Government Delegate Commission for Economic Affairs; President of the Commission for the Prevention of Money Laundering and Monetary Offenses and President of the Investment Advisory Commission of the Social Security Reserve Fund. He was also Alternate Governor for Spain in the World Bank Group, in the Inter-American Development Bank, in the Central American Bank for Economic Integration, in the Asian Development Bank, in the Asian Bank for Infrastructure Investment, in the African Development Bank and at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. In the academic area, he has been Professor in the Master of Finance at AFI School and Associate Professor of Fundamentals of Economic Analysis at the Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid.
Gaps and investments in water and climate resilience in LAC to 2030 and 2040
Speakers:

Ángel Cárdenas
General manager of urban development, water and creative economies, CAF -Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean-
Ángel Cárdenas

General manager of urban development, water and creative economies, CAF -Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean-
Manager of urban development and creative economies for CAF- Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean-. He previously served as a director for the energy projects for the South Region at CAF. Angel Cardenas is an Eisenhower Fellow at Eisenhower Fellowships, a forum that brings leaders from around the world to spend several weeks meeting with experts in their fields of interest throughout the US in the spirit of making the world more peaceful, prosperous, and just. Cardenas has worked for the World Bank, Universidad Central de Venezuela, and the University of Toronto.
SESSION 1. ACTION PLANS AND COMMITMENTS FOR THE 2030 AGENDA
Challenges and Financing of Hydrological Plans (3rd cycle) for Water Security
Speakers:

Teodoro Estrela Monreal
Director General for Water, Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge
Teodoro Estrela Monreal

Director General for Water, Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge
High level panel
Moderator: Franz Rojas-Ortuste, Director of Water and Sanitation Analysis, CAF
Speakers:

Ana Carolina Argolo Nascimento
Director of the National Water and Sanitation Agency, Brasil

Ruben Aleman
Presidente Administración Nacional de Acueductos y Alcantarillados (ANDA), El Salvador

Maria Fernanda Espinosa
Expert of the Global Commission on the Water Economy
Ana Carolina Argolo Nascimento

Director of the National Water and Sanitation Agency, Brasil
Ruben Aleman

Presidente Administración Nacional de Acueductos y Alcantarillados (ANDA), El Salvador
Maria Fernanda Espinosa

Expert of the Global Commission on the Water Economy
Coffee
SESSION 2. INNOVATIVE FINANCING FOR WATER SECURITY
High level panel
Moderator: Concepción Marcuello, Coordinator of International Water Affairs - Support Unit, MITERD
Speakers:

Santia Bradshaw
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport, Works and Water Resources, Barbados

Pablo Bereciartua
President, Global Water Partnership, GWP

Silvia Saravia
Expert on Economic Issues for Water Resources, ECLAC
Santia Bradshaw

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport, Works and Water Resources, Barbados
Pablo Bereciartua

President, Global Water Partnership, GWP
Silvia Saravia

Expert on Economic Issues for Water Resources, ECLAC
Closing
Speakers:

Ignacio Corlazzoli Hughes
Manager in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, CAF -Development Bank of Latin America
Ignacio Corlazzoli Hughes

Manager in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, CAF -Development Bank of Latin America