King of Spain promotes collaboration and investment in Latin America

This morning, the King of Spain inaugurated the CAF-development bank of Latin America- Board of Directors, which met for the first time in the country, at the Royal Casino in Madrid.

Upon his arrival, the King was welcomed by CAF’s executive president, Luis Carranza, as well as the Secretary of Economy and Business Assistance, Ana de la Cueva, and the Brazilian minister of planning and chairman of the Board, Esteves Colnago. After the initial welcome and official photo session, the inaugural meeting was celebrated with Board members receiving a commemorative plaque for their attendance.

In his speech, the King highlighted CAF’s extraordinary evolution to become a development bank that “is already among the region’s multilateral financing references.” He also said that Spain “is honored to be a part of an institution of such great international value.”

The King of Spain underlined CAF’s presence in Madrid “as a special hub between Ibero-America, Spain and Europe, which is a clear signal of their close ties," also stating that “Latin America is and will always be a priority for Spain.” In his speech, Felipe VI called for an increase in trade relations between Spain and Latin America, which “have grown by 46% over the past 10 years,” adding that his country is “confident they will continue on the rise in the coming years.”

As for investments, the King praised the solid participation by major Spanish companies in Ibero-America, within sectors such as banking, insurance, telephony, energy and water, as well as the infrastructures that “contribute to growth and progress,” adding that “Spain is, along with the United States of America, the region’s foremost long-term and productive investor, promoting the region’s development and integration.”

CAF’s executive president, Luis Carranza, highlighted the bond between Latin America and Spain based on the regions’ historic, political, cultural and economic ties: “It is a strategic and prime relationship that constitutes an area of shared influence in global geopolitics, which neither party can deny. Now, more than ever, it is essential to preserve the transatlantic bond and consolidate the bi-regional association we have fought so hard to obtain.”

Carranza reminded participants that Spain has always been present through Latin America’s hardest times, and that Spanish investment in the region amounts to almost EUR 140 billion, adding that Spanish companies in the sub-continent have served to promote development, create jobs and share knowledge. According to the executive, 36.5% of foreign direct investment in Spain comes from Latin America, and Spain is a reference in cooperation aimed toward development, and a leader and driver of the cooperation agenda with the European Union.

In this context, Carranza noted that “one of our main challenges is to improve productivity so that it allows us to compete on a global level. At CAF, we promote a major agreement in this momentous task of turning Europe into a formidable ally.”

The chairman of CAF’s Board and Brazil’s minister of planning, Esteves Colnago, stressed that “the goal is to discuss how to expand infrastructure to promote the sought-after regional integration in Latin America.” He also emphasized that infrastructure is a key factor for development, as it reduces logistics costs, stimulates productivity among countries, promotes competitiveness through the productive value chains, and intra-regional and international trade.

Colnago proposed “a leap in the infrastructure agenda scope,” urging greater focus on regional integration projects,” as “this is not only about creating infrastructures and logistics brokers to have physical connections; it is also about being functional and integrating different areas of development, such as productive clusters, services, interconnection hubs, and border-crossing points, as well as metropolitan areas and port terminals.” “That will be the only way to optimize its role and have a direct impact on the productivity and competitiveness of the region’s countries,” he added.

After the opening ceremony, the Board held a meeting in which members approved an investment totaling USD 785 million to finance several development projects in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador.

The Board met for the first time in Spain, a day after the CAF Conference titled Infrastructure for the Integration of Latin America, held at Casa de America in Madrid.