Madrid, March 31st, 2023. The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) presented its main lines of action to promote the integration of the region, as well as the economic, social and environmental development of its member countries, this Friday at the ICEX headquarters in Madrid. CABEI's Executive President, Dante Mossi, invited Spanish companies to participate in projects for "3 billion euros in annual contracts, where they have a great competitive advantage thanks to the common language."

Among the most important projects, Mossi mentioned the new Costa Rican government complex to be built in San José, with a budget of US$450 million, which will be put out to bid in 60 days for its design and construction. The CABEI President also pointed out that between now and the end of the year, the Pacific Train in El Salvador will be put out to tender, as well as another project for the end of the year for an electric train in Costa Rica. These flagship projects are in addition to others that are expected to be launched soon, such as the US$550 million deep-water port of Bluefields in Nicaragua. Finally, there are also plans to tender contracts for US$700 million in Costa Rica. As Mossi said, "Spanish companies can position themselves as priority players in all these projects since "they compete and compete very well."

Spain is one of the bank's non-regional members, with a 4.2% shareholding, which provides benefits to national companies when contracting. In addition, CABEI has established a Special Fund for Direct Foreign Investment for a total amount of US$200 million, which aims to provide loans and credit guarantees for companies that want to invest in Central American countries (El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala). Through this mechanism, the institution provides opportunities for the private sector so that companies can access these markets, expand their operations in the region and access competitive financing, thanks to the cooperation bank's "zero default" record over the past decades, which is a guarantee for investors.

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For his part, ICEX General Director Javier Serra highlighted CABEI's strength, which has a loan portfolio estimated at over US$9 billion and a projected annual disbursement of US$2.164 billion, making it the most important multilateral bank in the Central American region.

Serra also pointed out that "CABEI's priority sectors include transportation, infrastructure, and hotels, all of which are segments in which Spanish companies stand out. The opening of the new office in Europe is great news for our companies that have interests, since the mission of the CABEI office in Madrid is to become a platform for connection between Europe and the Central American region."

During the meeting, CABEI ratified its role as a bridge of opportunities between Central America and Europe, with Spain as the gateway, and encouraged those present to seek investment opportunities in Central America and strengthen cooperation ties, in addition to promoting relations between Spanish and Central American companies.

"CABEI is a catalyst of resources for the financing of social and sustainable programs for the Central American region, which is why the support of our extraregional partners is essential for us to work for the well-being and quality of life of our citizens," said CABEI Executive President Dante Mossi.

CABEI's public sovereign sector manager, Manuel Torres; non-sovereign public private sector manager, Carlos Gómez; and CABEI's representative officer in Spain and Europe, Mauricio Chacón, participated at the presentation table.

The ICEX-CABEI Forum was held within the framework of cooperation week, which has led to CABEI's visit to Spain to hold its Board of Directors meeting in Madrid for the first time, and the approval of various financing items for CABEI member countries.