CAF and Peruvian Foreign Ministry Organize Meeting on Regional Integration with Bolivia and Brazil

To evaluate the many opportunities for commercial and infrastructure integration between the southern region of Peru, the Amazon region of western Brazil and northern Bolivia, high-level authorities from the three countries will meet from September 2 to 4 in the city of Arequipa, Peru, with the backing of the Andean Development Corporation (CAF).

The meeting will identify joint investment possibilities in the three countries, based on identification of priority integration projects taking into account economic, legal, social and environmental considerations.

The opening session will be attended by the CAF vice-president, Luis Enrique Berrizbeitia, ex-President Valentín Paniagua, and the mayor of Arequipa, Juan Manuel Guillén, along with representatives from the governments of Brazil and Bolivia, former foreign minister Allan Wagner representing the Peruvian Center for International Studies (CEPEI) and Alberto Muñoz Nájar for the Southern Macroregion.

The speakers on infrastructure integration will be Raúl Diez Canseco, vice president of Peru; Humberto Zurita, director general of transport of Bolivia; and José Paulo Silveira, Secretary of Planning and Strategic Investment of the Ministry of the Plan, Budget and Management of Brazil. The speakers at the session on September 4 will be Diego García Sayán, Peruvian foreign minister, and Germán Jaramillo, CAF director representative in Peru.

This important meeting will give local political leaders, regional authorities and parliamentarians from the border areas an opportunity to exchange opinions on cross-border integration, while business sectors will evaluate investment opportunities.