Europe and Latin America promote new cooperation and social investment agenda

Latin America and the Caribbean and the EU are in a position to write a new page in the history of their relations of cooperation, trade and promotion of social investments. This is one of the main conclusions reached by Spanish Treasury Secretary-General Carlos Cuerpo, and Sergio Díaz-Granados, executive president of CAF—development bank of Latin America—, in a discussion organized in Madrid by the financial institution.

The meeting analyzed how to take advantage of the window of opportunity presented by the Spanish presidency of the EU Council, especially to boost investment in infrastructure projects and in sectors that foster the green transition, digital transformation and human development. In this sense, the Government of Spain chose CAF as one of its main partners to advance new socioeconomic synergies and cooperation between the countries of the region and European countries.

“Latin America and the Caribbean needs a stock of investment in infrastructure that exceeds the funding capacity of all multilateral banks combined, and thus, we must all work in a coordinated manner to overcome the gaps in the region,” said Díaz-Granados, who also claimed CAF’s new role in regional development, backed by the institution’s all-time-high USD 7 billion capitalization, decided by consensus in early 2023.

”We managed to fine-tune CAF once again, the greatest public asset of regional integration. Today we have become the best instrument to address development challenges of Latin America and the Caribbean,” said Díaz-Granados.

In addition, Carlos Cuerpo said that “Spain is a natural link between the EU and Latin America and the Caribbean,” and presented the new work guidelines between the two regions, based on reinforced institutional cooperation through banks and the enhancement of the leaders themselves; in a practical and efficient investment agenda; and in the promotion of trade and business relations.

Cuerpo also underscored that “we are not starting from scratch” and that it is important to promote an increasingly social investment agenda that contributes to sustainable and inclusive growth and with an increasingly present digitalization. “There is a high added value that we can bring from Europe to Latin America, and vice versa,” added Cuerpo. This investment agenda will be presented in the context of the Brussels Summit and will be followed up at the meeting of Finance Ministers in Santiago de Compostela.

The discussion was moderated by Erika Rodríguez Pinzón, professor at the Complutense University and Special Advisor to the High Representative of the European Union, and also analyzed the competitive advantages of the region at the status of renewable energy sources, biodiversity and natural resources, as well as the new instruments available to fund development projects.

During Spain’s term as Chair of the European Council in 2023, the Government of Spain wishes to promote new socioeconomic and cooperation synergies between the countries of the region and the European countries. To this end, during the Summit of EU Heads of State in Brussels on July 17, CAF is set to organize, together with the EU and the IDB, a business forum to promote high-level dialogue between business and government leaders.

Later, on September 15, 2023, CAF will coordinate—together with the Government of Spain—the first meeting of the 33 Latin American and Caribbean and 27 EU Finance Ministers, in Santiago de Compostela, to streamline a cooperation and investment agenda based on the green transition, digital transformation and human development.