CABEI, SICA and Germany strengthen cooperation ties with the allocation of €400 million for development projects in Central America
Tegucigalpa, San Salvador, Berlin-Bonn, May 20, 2021.- The Federal Republic of Germany approved €406.9 million for the benefit of the region to expand ongoing projects and support future ones, as well as for new areas of cooperation, following a day of negotiations with the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) and the Central American Integration System (SICA).
CABEI Executive President, Dr. Dante Mossi, expressed his gratitude for the historic support provided by the German government to the region, which has channeled US$855.0 million in projects and US$48.7 million in non-reimbursable resources through CABEI over the last decade.
"These new resources, which will be channeled through CABEI as a loan and donation, reaffirm the ties of cooperation and friendship between Germany and Central America," said Mossi.
Ulrike Metzger, Head of the Latin American and Caribbean Division at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, said: "It has been and continues to be very important for Germany to support the Central American region in these difficult times. For this reason, we have been strongly advocating the identification and financing of effective measures.
Despite the great challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, we want to continue to pursue the crucial topics: environment, natural resources, climate and energy, peace and migration. In addition, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development aims to establish a climate partnership to strategically strengthen existing climate-relevant cooperation as well as to conserve important forests and protected areas in Central America".
These negotiations take place every two years with the aim of deepening investments in the region. The new allocations bring the total amount of Germany's historical cooperation with the region to €1,524.5 million.
Participants in this occasion included: The SICA Secretary General, Vinicio Cerezo Arévalo; CABEI Executive President, Dante Mossi; and the Head of the Division for Cooperation with Latin America and the Caribbean of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Ulrike Metzger, as well as the German Ambassadors to Honduras, Jens Janik, and El Salvador, Dr. Peter Woeste.
