Agreement signed with SELA

(August 26, 1992).- The two institutions will work jointly to promote investments in the private sector, support actions to promote foreign trade, and stimulate projects in specific technological areas.

The chief executives of CAF and the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA) today signed an inter-institutional agreement to strengthen cooperation between the two organizations to contribute to the development of their member countries.

The agreement was signed in the CAF headquarters in Caracas by CAF President & CEO Enrique García and SELA Permanent Secretary Ambassador Salvador Arriola.

The agreement stipulates that both organizations will work jointly on activities to promote investments in the private sector and foreign trade.

CAF and SELA will promote meetings between regional financial organizations, promote projects in specific technological areas, such as biotechnology and information technology, contribute to the formation of Latin American multinational companies, and exchange information on the external economic relations of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Ambassador Arriola recalled that in his capacity as Mexican official, it had negotiated that country’s membership of CAF; he considered it "a happy coincidence" that now, as SELA permanent secretary, this opportunity to work together was taking place.

The SELA official said the two institutions face the challenge of deepening integration and regional cooperation, at times when these processes are intensifying rapidly.

García emphasized the importance of the agreement for both organizations, especially in the context of the current process of expansion and diversification of CAF.

In this context, he mentioned the recent entry of Chile into CAF capital, country which joins Mexico as extra-subregional partner, and the start of financial and trade relations with the Caribbean community, expressed in the signing of a line of credit in September with the Royal Bank of Trinidad and Tobago.

CAF is a multi-service institution which finances profitable projects in the public sector and especially the private sector. It is also a development bank, offers commercial banking services through lines of credit for foreign trade, and an investment bank which offers a range of modern services.

SELA provides the region with a system of consultation and coordination for adoption of common positions by Latin America and Caribbean countries, and promotes cooperation among its 27 member states.

The agreement signed today has a duration of one year but the idea is to use it as a starting point for a possible framework agreement for joint activities.