Food and energy provision: a great integration opportunity for Latin America
April 11, 2022
In Buenos Aires, CAF Development Bank of Latin America, presented the RED 2021 report entitled “Pathways to Integration: Trade Facilitation, Infrastructure and Global Value Chains,” which presents the main advances and challenges faced by the region to achieve a higher level of integration that will boost productivity and well-being in the countries.
At an event held at the Casa Rosada, the results of the study were presented. CAF representatives, government authorities and experts were in attendance and gave valuable insight into the study’s findings. The report presented by the organization highlights the importance of the progress made, but also emphasizes the need to achieve better trade integration in the region.
Christian Asinelli, Corporate Vice President of Strategic Programming, opened the meeting: “Since its founding in 1970, CAF’s mission has been to promote regional integration. That is why we are very grateful for the trust placed in us by the twenty countries that make up the Bank to carry out this historic capitalization for 7 billion USD, which will enable us to double our loan portfolio by 2030 for initiatives that improve the quality of life for the population, as well as the productive integration and regional value chains that are so necessary at this time.”
After Asinelli’s presentation, Gustavo Béliz, Secretary of Strategic Affairs of the Argentine Presidency, Óscar Llamosas, Minister of Finance of Paraguay and Roberto Fendt, Special Secretary of Foreign Trade and International Affairs of Brazil, who are also members of CAF’s Board of Directors, spoke.
“We are going through particularly challenging times, but that open up great opportunities for the region. The world will never be the same. We are living through a epochal change sparked by environmental impact, the advance of disruptive technologies and the heavy geopolitical shock caused by the war in Ukraine. In this context, the need for food and the creation of food sovereignty and safety are a great opportunity for Latin America and the Caribbean, along with the new challenges of energy supply,” said Béliz.
Llamosas continued: “I am pleased to once again join the bank at this presentation, the launch of which we have been discussing since 2021. As I pointed out at the time, this report is intrinsic to the existence of the bank, because it examines the integration between our countries. These unique times we are going through confirm the need to strengthen our regional integration. We must work together and collaborate in times of crisis. It is clear that we have a long way to go and that allies such as CAF will be very important in achieving our objectives.”
During his speech, Roberto Fendt, Brazil’s Special Secretary for Foreign Trade and International Affairs, said: “Trade facilitation, integration infrastructure development, and the promotion of global value chains proposed in CAF’s report are more important today than ever in the global scenario we find ourselves in. We agree that this is an opportunity that as a region we cannot miss, for lower inflation and greater commercial and economic dynamics.”
Argentina’s Secretary of International Economic Relations, Cecilia Todesca Bocco, added: “The region lacked a stable scientific and technological policy. We now face very interesting opportunities that together we must take advantage of to enhance each country’s capabilities.”
Adriana Arreaza, CAF Knowledge Manager, led a debate on the integration of Latin America in the new global context in which Juan Gabriel Tokatlian, Vice-Rector of Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, Ana Basco, Director of INTAL-IDB, Eugenio Díaz Bonilla, former Executive Director for the IDB in Argentina and Carlos Mata Prates, Director General of the Border and Maritime Affairs Area of the Uruguayan Ministry of Foreign Affairs also participated.
Afterwards, Santiago Rojas, CAF Representative in Argentina, moderated a debate on the challenges and opportunities of integration for Argentina, in which Cecilia Todesca Bocco, Secretary of International Economic Relations of Argentina; Juan Carlos Hallak, from the University of Buenos Aires; Carolina Castro, industrial entrepreneur and UIA and AFAC leader; and Julieta Zelicovich, from the National University of Rosario, all took part.
Jorge Srur, Southern Regional Manager at CAF and Leandro Gorgal, Undersecretary of International Financial Relations for Development in Argentina, concluded the meeting. “It is vital that we bring together global efforts with regional and national realities through “glocalization” that supports productive and commercial integration that generates sustainable jobs,” concluded Srur.