CAF Executive President visits Ecuador and reaffirms commitments to the country's sustainable development
During a visit to Quito, CAF's new Executive President, Sergio Díaz-Granados, had a meeting with the President of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso Mendoza, with whom he agreed to work together for the promotion and inclusive economic growth of the country, through high-impact projects such as the recently signed loan for USD 200 million to reduce chronic child malnutrition.
In his first official visit as executive president of CAF, Development Bank of Latin America-, Sergio Díaz- Granados had a meeting with the President of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso Mendoza, in which they committed to impulse the work for continue support the county in its process of economic recovery and sustainable development.
At the appointment, they discussed issues related to CAF's strategy in Ecuador, as well as the projects that are in the process of being implemented. During the meeting, they also signed a loan agreement for USD 200 million that will financially support the actions that the National Government, within the framework of a state policy, is carrying out with technical and financial support from CAF to reduce the chronic child malnutrition in the country, with emphasis on actions to care for vulnerable populations in their first 1,000 days of life.
"It is in our interest to continue being an unconditional supporter to improve the quality of life of Ecuadorians, especially the vulnerable population, like children. This new loan is a second phase of CAF's support, and will help strengthen information systems, mechanisms for assigning and monitoring resources, and governance and institutional strengthening initiatives," said Sergio Diaz-Granados.
He also commented that during the meetings held with the President of the Republic and his team, it was possible to learn about the government's vision, orientation, and progress in these first 100 days of administration; and thus, identify areas of future cooperation between CAF and the government for the benefit of the country.
For his part, President Guillermo Lasso welcomed CAF's Executive President and thanked the Institution for its support to Ecuador's development. He mentioned that this is the first visit of President Diaz-Granados to the country and that during the meetings they discussed issues of mutual interest and CAF's cooperation with social development projects in Ecuador.
The meeting was also attended by Christian Asinelli, Corporate Vice President of Strategic Programming, Simon Cueva, Minister of Economy and Finance, and other senior officials.
In 2021 CAF is collaborating with the Government in several financing initiatives for the water and education sectors within the framework of the formulation of the National Development Plan, which will allow for a joint work plan for the next 4 years in these sectors. In the health sector, CAF recently approved a loan for USD 75 million to support the strengthening of health systems in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the period 2016 - 2020, CAF approved credit operations to Ecuador for a total of USD 4,515 million, of which USD 3,726 million have been delivered. Ecuador's portfolio at the end of December 2020 totaled USD 4,122 million.