CAF -development bank of Latin America and the Caribbean-, celebrated this Wednesday in Madrid itsCAF Conference 2023, focused on “European Union-Latin America and the Caribbean Relations. A joint agenda for development”, to strengthen bi-regional ties in three key areas of development such as the green transition, digital transformation and human development.

The conference had a high institutional presence of the Government of Spain, with the first vice president and minister of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation,Nadia Calvino, the third vice president and minister of Energy Transition and Demographic Challenge,Teresa Ribera, and Carmen Artigas, Secretary of State for Digital Transformation.

During his speech, Calviño assured that the meeting of EU-CELAC Ministers of Economy and Finance this Friday in Santiago de Compostela is “a dream come true since we came to Government in 2018. Promoting collaboration with Latin America was one of our priorities, and rarely like now can the discreet, constructive and effective work that we have been doing be captured.”

“Europe has Latin America and the Caribbean as a key partner for this new international order based on multilateralism, democratic values ​​and development with sustainable growth for all,” said Calviño.

Sergio Díaz-Granados, executive president of CAF, highlighted the importance of strengthening Spain's relationship with Latin America and the Caribbean. “Last July, the investment of 45 billion euros until 2027 was announced to contribute to reducing poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean, but we must continue to reconcile the fiscal, social and environmental agenda and achieve sustainable and inclusive growth. “We live in sensitive times and our citizens are looking for concrete results.”

Enrique Ojeda Vila, general director of Casa de América, said that “in all these years, topics such as sustainable economic relations have been discussed here, especially after the pandemic we are experiencing. We have also talked about a new global order, about proposals for inclusion and digitalization in cities and rural areas or green financing. This year, the conference also takes place within the framework of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union and in the week in which the first Ecofin-Celac meeting is held.”

On the other hand, the Minister of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, pointed out that “if we review the data prepared by CAF for this meeting we see to what extent we have the challenges present with a common agenda for all countries. These are three reports that CAF has prepared that allow us to see, when put together, what we are talking about.”

“The impact of climate change in Latin America and the Caribbean is tremendous. In fact, we need to strengthen the early warning capacity of civil protection systems that guarantee that at least the impact on human lives and basic infrastructure can be reduced and generate less pain," said the Spanish minister.

Four panels of interest

In the first panel, called “EU-LAC roadmap in collaboration for climate and sustainability”, Teresa Ribera participated; Mauricio Cárdenas, professor in Global Leadership at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University and former Minister of Finance of Colombia; and Lara de Mesa, Group Vice President and Global Director of Responsible Banking at Banco Santander. They spoke with Azucena Arbeleche, Minister of Economy and Finance of Uruguay; Ricardo Bonilla, Minister of Finance and Public Credit of Colombia; Óscar Herrera, governor of the province of Misiones, Argentina, and Enrique Riquelme Vives, CEO of the Cox Group.

The second panel, entitled “A new digital alliance for the EU and Latin America and the Caribbean”, was moderated by José Ignacio Torreblanca, from the European Council on Foreign Relations, six experts addressed the challenges in terms of technology and digitalization: Gustavo Beliz, former Secretary of Strategic Affairs of the Nation of Argentina; Angel Melguizo, partner at ARGIA, Green, Tech & Economics Consulting; Carme Artigas, Secretary of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence of Spain; Max Trejo, secretary general of the International Youth Organization (OIJ); Trinidad Jiménez García-Herrera, director of Global Public Affairs Strategy at Telefónica and Philippe Orliange, executive director for countries at the French Development Agency, AFD.

The third panel is called “Challenges of social policy in Latin America and the Caribbean. A deeper look at the challenges faced by the countries of the continent and the mechanisms to transform them. Erika Rodríguez Pinzón, professor at the Complutense University of Madrid and special advisor to the High Representative of the European Union, moderates the presentation between Santiago Levy, non-resident senior researcher in World Economy and Development, at the Brookings Institution; José Manuel Vicente, Minister of Finance, of the Dominican Republic; Michelle Muschett, Undersecretary General, Deputy Administrator and Director of the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, UNDP; Julissa Reynoso, United States ambassador to Spain and Carlos Felipe Jaramillo, vice president for the Latin American and Caribbean region, World Bank.

Finally, the fourth panel, focused on “Investment Opportunities in the Caribbean”, talks about a vital region that is taking the brunt of climate change, inequality and lack of investment. Stacy Richards-Kennedy, regional manager for the Caribbean of CAF moderates an important talk with Camillo Gonsalves, Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Information Technologies, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Ryan Straughn, Minister of Economy and Finance of Barbados; Karen-Mae Hill, High Commissioner of Antigua and Barbuda in the United Kingdom and Ragnheiður Elín Árnadóttir, Director of the OECD Development Centre.