Díaz-Granados: "The integration of Latin America and the Caribbean is a strategic imperative"

"Latin America and the Caribbean have all the necessary pieces to solve their problems. The formula for success lies in dialogue, sustained effort and the sum of potentialities," said Sergio Díaz-Granados, CAF's executive president, at the opening of the Panama International Economic Forum, which brings together more than 4,000 global experts in Panama to discuss the future of regional development.

"This global panorama offers us an unprecedented scenario: we are experiencing a schism in the rules-based system. An imperfect system, but one that provided a floor of certainty, is now facing another centered on interests and disputes over control of essential elements for the digital and energy transitions," added Díaz-Granados.

For his part, Gustavo Petro, President of Colombia, stressed during his speech the importance of promoting dialogue among civilizations as a basis for building peace, as well as the value of human brotherhood as an essential condition for freedom and the defense of life.

"If we want peace and brotherhood, there must be a dialogue between civilizations. Only from human brotherhood is freedom possible, and without integral freedom and the defense of life, we do not fully exist as human beings," Petro affirmed.

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

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 in 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.