Nobel Peace Prize winners summons dialogue optimism and equality

Latin America and the Caribbean raised their voice to be seen as an opportunity and relevant actor to deliver solutions to global problems that do not wait, such as climate change, inequality, poverty and economic growth, among others, through the space offered by CAF -development bank of Latin America- in the event "Many Voices, one region: Latin America and the Caribbean working on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development".

The Nobel Peace Prize winners Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Rigoberta Menchú Tum and Juan Manuel Santos, alongside the Foreign Minister of Argentina, Santiago Cafiero, the Executive President of CAF, Sergio Díaz-Granados, and the Corporate Vice-President of Strategic Programming, Christian Asinelli, presented a integral vision of Latin America and the Caribbean before the eyes of the world in the framework of the 77th UN General Assembly in New York.

“The COVID made us realize that we are vulnerable and have to be humble to get ahead. We have to be optimistic about working with development and creativity to prosper in trade and knowledge, putting technology at the service of women, education, and leadership. To me, being here today with CAF, the development bank of Latin America, is also a source of hope because there are millions of people, native women, leaders, who are waiting for a community or family loan that they can continue with their self-managed initiatives,” he said. Rigoberta Menchú Tum.

Adolfo Pérez Esquivel emphasized the need to promote equality. “Democracy means the right to equality for all, these are the foundations of peace. And that's what we have to work on to make it happen. Head towards a participatory democracy where peoples have legal and constitutional legal tools to defend their rights and build coexistence in diversity”.

Juan Manuel Santos said that Latin America has an opportunity to come out with a strong voice, one that has greater relevance in the face of world problems than ever had, but for that, dialogue is required to find common denominators. “To fight against climate change, poverty, inequality and peace with nature, financing and effectiveness are required to allow us to make the leap to development, which is why I am pleased that CAF is refocusing its priorities where it should be and I urge the countries to use CAF as a source of solutions to be more successful in the future”, he added.

CAF commemorated 10 years since its entry into the United Nations as a permanent observer, -in which it has signed at least 40instruments (agreements, covenants and cooperation letters) with more than 20 entities of the UN System, aimed at confronting joint and articulated way the great challenges that our region faces in sectoral issues such as agriculture, finance, education, employment, health, gender, governance, environment, among others- with a panel in which Alberto Fernández, president of Argentina and president CELAC pro tempore; Achim Steiner, administrator of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Rebeca Grynspan, secretary general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and Enrique García, former president of CAF. At the close of the event, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between CAF and the UNDP to promote the Sustainable Development Goals in Latin America, signed by Sergio Díaz-Granados and Luis Felipe López Calva, regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the UNDP. (summary).

“We need a development bank because Latin America needs to finance a lot of structure to be able to consolidate the path of growth,” addressed the president, while affirming: “As president pro tempore of CELAC, I guarantee that there is, above any government ideology, a certain decision of Latin America and the Caribbean to join efforts to face the future”, affirmed the president of Argentina, Alberto Fernández.

For his part, Sergio Díaz-Granados assured: “The essence of CAF is multilateralism. The institution was born as a result of a shared regional vision and continues to be strengthened thanks to the brave and innovative spirit that characterizes us as Latin Americans and Caribbean. Today, after 10 years as permanent observers at the UN, we renew our institutional commitment to support actions aimed at protecting the environment, creating jobs, empowering women, and caring for the most vulnerable hand in hand with the UNDP and the UN System”.

During the panel The genesis of the SDG: Redefinition of development leaders such as the former presidents of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos; from the Government of Spain and member of the Club of Madrid, José María Aznar; and from Panama, Martín Torrijos; together with the authors of the book "Redefining development: the extraordinary genesis of the Sustainable Development Goals", Paula Caballero; and Patti Londoño; the director of the Institute of the Americas at Georgetown University, Alejandro Werner; the Senior Vice-President of Government Relations of Mastercard for Latin America and the Caribbean, Darren Ware; former senior adviser to President Barack Obama on issues related to Latin America, Dan Restrepo; made a chronology on the relevance of the SDG and the challenges to achieving the goals by 2030 (summary).

Parallel to the event sessions, CAF also signed strategic alliances with the United Nations Institute for Professional Training and Research (UNITAR) to promote education, the energy transition, and social inclusion; with Mastercard with the purpose to attract more people from the region to the digital economy; and finally with Georgetown University to foster research and academic cooperation.

On Monday morning, CAF participated in a working breakfast between the foreign ministers of CELAC and the Association of Caribbean States and signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the latter to strengthen cooperation and joint work in the green and blue economy, transportation, logistics and climate change, among others. CAF highlighted the recent creation of its Regional Office for the Caribbean countries as part of the bank's strategy to strengthen the relationship with that region. (summary).

Tuesday, September 20 will be full of debate in the panels: Sport as a key investment for inclusion, Sustainability of coffee growers in Latin America and the Caribbean, How to transform education from an innovative perspective?, Food Security in America Latin America and the Caribbean, Sustainability and the new youth agenda. All sessions can be followed live on CAF.com.