III CAF-Sciences Po Conference: the Challenges of Latin America-EU Relations

Important political leaders, senior officials from international organizations, analysts and academics will meet in Paris on October 27, during the III Conference that CAF- development bank of Latin America sponsors in partnership with Sciences Po, the prestigious French educational institute, to address the new challenges that Latin America- European Union (EU) relations face.

CAF's executive president, Enrique Garcia, and Sciences Po Director, Frédéric Mion, will open the conference, featuring a keynote speech by the former President of Uruguay, Jose Mujica.

Later in the program, a discussion regarding trends in the global economy and their impact on Latin America will take place among the former IDB President and the former Iberoamerican Secretary General and CEPAL's Executive Secretary, Enrique Iglesias, Colombia's former Finance Minister, Jose Antonio Ocampo, and Enrique Garcia.

It is noteworthy that the EU and Latin America continue to have a very special relationship since their first joint Summit was held in 1999 in Rio de Janeiro, where a strategic alliance was forged between the two regions. Since then, their relationship has grown stronger, with numerous trade agreements being signed, and countless instances of political dialogue, cooperation and exchange of knowledge.

It is within this context that the III CAF-Sciences Po Conference will address the challenges of Euro-Latin American inter-regionalism, thus balancing out the Summit that was held in June between the EU and the Latin American and Caribbean States Community (CELAC) in Brussels. A discussion entitled "Balance of CELAC-EU II Summit: New Challenges for Re-Launching Inter-Regionalism" will include panelists such as the former Italian Prime Minister, Enrico Letta, the former Peruvian Foreign Minister, Allan Wagner, the Spanish Secretary of State for International Cooperation, Jesus Gracia, and the Iberoamerican General Secretary, Rebeca Grynspan, among others.

Several prominent specialists will also hold a separate panel discussion about the challenges that lie ahead for both economic blocks before the International Climate Summit (COP21) is held in Paris next December, a meeting that is considered crucial for the international community to reach a new agreement towards reducing emissions and helping to slow down climate change. Some of the participants in this panel discussion will be Peru's Environment Minister, Manuel Pulgar Vidal, French Development Agency's COO, Laurence Breton-Moyet, and Mexico's former Undersecretary of Planning and Environmental Policy, Fernando Tudela.

The new trading environment and the impact on global value chains will also be discussed in another panel , featuring America Economia's Editor, Elias Selman, OCDE's Development Center Director, Mario Pezzini, and CEPAL's International Trade and Integration former Director, Osvaldo Rosales, among others.

Finally, the Director of Forecasting and Strategy of the French Foreign Affairs Ministry, Justin Vaïsse, will provide the closing remarks at the conference.

The conference will be available live, via www.caf.com/sciencespo2015 and #CAFSciencesPo2015.