Bernardo Arevalo: "The direction is clear: we need more unity, integration and interconnection"

The President of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo, stressed that in the midst of global challenges, the direction that the country and the region must take is clear: "we need more unity, more integration, coordination and interconnection, as well as a renewed commitment to an international system based on laws and peace and solid and sustainable financing for development.

The inaugural session of the Forum was led by Sergio Díaz-Granados, CAF's Executive President, together with Raúl Mulino, President of Panama; Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil; Rodrigo Paz, President of Bolivia; Daniel Noboa, President of Ecuador; Gustavo Petro, President of Colombia; Andrew Holness, Prime Minister of Jamaica; and the President-elect of Chile, José Antonio Kast.

During his speech, Sergio Díaz-Granados, executive president of CAF, underscored the historic nature of the meeting and the need to strengthen regional integration in the face of global challenges "This Forum was created to think about how we can give our nations the necessary coordination capabilities and how we can strengthen our region, integrating among ourselves and with the rest of the world. In the midst of fragmentation, we need broad, bold and high-impact spaces for reflection to align positions, add geopolitical protagonism, and provide the region with its own voice to contribute concrete solutions and courses of action".

Díaz-Granados also highlighted CAF's role in supporting countries in solving regional problems and its expansion plans for the next five years: "We have the foundations to achieve exponential growth of our portfolio: we aspire to expand the bank by at least 70% by 2031, which means close to USD 100 billion in new approvals, and at least 20% of them for the private sector.

Arévalo also highlighted the growth of the Guatemalan economy, "which is explained by a significant increase in investment, driven particularly by the public sector, as well as a strong dynamism of family remittances, which exceeded USD 25 billion in 2025", but also added that he is aware of the challenges shared with the region, such as the need to strengthen human capital and infrastructure.

The Forum will bring together heads of state and government, ministers, business leaders, representatives of international organizations and academics to discuss the main challenges and opportunities for Latin America and the Caribbean, with more than 6,000 people from 70 countries registered.

The agenda includes key issues such as economic growth, regional integration, sustainability, investment, inclusion and competitiveness, with the aim of building, through dialogue, concrete solutions to promote the region's development.