Latin America and the Caribbean and the European Union are preparing to take their relations to another level. To understand a little better the roadmap of both regions, the CAF Development Bank for Latin America and the Caribbean is organizing a meeting at Casa América (Madrid, Spain) with leading experts and opinion leaders. At this event, almost forty high-profile speakers reflect on the state of transatlantic relations and address future opportunities and challenges. The in-person capacity is already covered, but the event can be followed live on the various front pages of EL PAÍS América.
In the words of Sergio Díaz-Granados, President of the multilateral bank, this meeting is an opportunity “to reflect on the global financial architecture.” “Many of the global problems will require the Latin American region. Both food and carbon sequestration or energy solutions. You can’t make these big changes in the world without thinking about Latin America,” he told América Futura during the presentation of the organization’s economic and development report.
The event begins at nine a.m. Spanish time; two a.m. in Colombia; one a.m. in Mexico, three a.m. in Washington and four a.m. in Buenos Aires, begins with an installation by Díaz-Granados; Alex Contreras Miranda, Minister of Economy and Finance, Peru and President of the Board of Directors of CAF, and Nadia Calviño, First Vice President and Minister of Economy and Digital Transformation of Spain. “The aim is to mobilize the world of development finance to understand Latin America as a region of solutions,” added Díaz-Granados.
This annual summit, also organized with the support of the Ministry of Economy and Digital Transformation, the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE) and Casa de América, takes place as part of the first informal meeting of the 60 Ministers of Economy and Finance of both regions. At a meeting in Brussels in July, the European Commission (EC) announced that the so-called “Team Europe” will mobilize €45 billion by 2027 to help reduce poverty and inequality in the region and achieve more inclusive and sustainable growth As part of the Global Gateway Initiative, the EU’s global cooperation and investment platform in Latin America and the Caribbean.
“With an investment volume of almost 800,000 million euros, Europe is the largest investor in Latin America. 113 projects have already been identified to invest in by 2027. These include energy projects, transport projects, the issuance of green bonds or the production of green hydrogen… Our task is to land them so that when the next summit comes, in 2025 we can review the progress,” Díaz-Granados added.
At this event, the first starting points are given, such as four large discussions as a prelude to the following days. First, Teresa Ribera, Third Vice-President and Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge of Spain, will intervene in the EU-LAC roadmap for cooperation on climate and sustainability; Mauricio Cárdenas, Professor of Global Leadership at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and former Finance Minister of Colombia; and Lara de Mesa, Group Vice President and Global Director of Responsible Banking at Banco Santander. Ribera, Cárdenas and De Mesa will speak with Azucena Arbeleche, Minister of Economy and Finance of Uruguay; Ricardo Bonilla, Minister of Finance and Public Credit of Colombia; Óscar Herrera, Governor of Misiones Province, Argentina, and Enrique Riquelme Vives, CEO of Cox Group.
In the second panel, “A new digital alliance for the EU and Latin America and the Caribbean,” moderated by José Ignacio Torreblanca from the European Council on Foreign Relations, six experts will address the challenges related to technology and digitalization: Gustavo Beliz, former secretary for strategic affairs of the Argentine nation; 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, managing director for countries at the French development agency AFD.
Later, at around 11:20 a.m. (Peninsula Time), there will be a debate on the challenges of social policy in Latin America and the Caribbean. A deeper look at the challenges facing the continent’s countries and the mechanisms for their transformation. Erika Rodríguez Pinzón, Professor at the Complutense University of Madrid and Special Advisor to the High Representative of the European Union, will host the presentation between Santiago Levy, non-resident senior researcher in global economics and development at the Brookings Institution; José Manuel Vicente, Minister of Finance of the Dominican Republic; Michelle Muschett, Under-Secretary-General, Deputy Administrator and Director of the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, UNDP; Julissa Reynoso, US Ambassador to Spain and Carlos Felipe Jaramillo, World Bank Vice President for the Latin America and Caribbean Region.
Finally, the fourth panel will focus on investment opportunities in the Caribbean, a vital region suffering most from climate change, inequality and lack of investment. Stacy Richards-Kennedy, CAF’s Caribbean Regional Manager, will moderate an important conversation 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 to the United Kingdom and Ragnheiður Elín Árnadóttir, Director of the OECD Development Center.
There will also be two lectures on sustainable coffee production led by Juan Esteban Orduz, President of the National Federation of Coffee Growers, New York, and President of the World Forum of Coffee Producers, together with Alicia Montalvo, Manager of Climate Action and Positive Biodiversity of CAF. “59% of the world’s coffee is produced in the region and also comes from small farmers. This is a product that is very sensitive to climate change and typically does not pay well for communities,” explains Montalvo, whose organization has invested $800,000 in technical assistance to producers and farmers to improve productivity of governance to work and increase the prosperity of farmers. Finally, Pepa Bueno, director of EL PAÍS, will interview Carlos Vives, Colombian singer-songwriter. The event will be closed by Antonio Garamendi, CEOE President, and Christian Asinelli, Corporate Vice President of Strategic Programming of CAF.