CABEI, SICA and the German Government reaffirm their commitment to cooperate to promote sustainable development in the region

Tegucigalpa, March 4th, 2021.- Strengthening development cooperation ties, consultations were held between the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) Delegation, the Central American Integration System (SICA) and the Federal Republic of Germany.

The inauguration session was presided over by Mr. Vinicio Cerezo Arévalo, SICA Secretary General; Mr. Jaime Roberto Diaz Palacios, CABEI Executive Vice President; and Ms. Ulrike Metzger, Head of the Latin America and Caribbean Division of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

CABEI Executive Vice President, Jaime Díaz, highlighted the cooperation of this country in the region and how the Bank has been a channel and strategic ally for the parties. "It is important to highlight the support of the Federal Republic of Germany' s government during the pandemic, which made its program eligibility more flexible, thus redirecting resources for immediate support to the region's countries.”

On this topic, CABEI Executive President, Dr. Dante Mossi, confirmed that German Financial Cooperation, through KfW, has channeled US$855.0 million in projects aimed at the region's sustainable development through CABEI since 2002.

The impact of COVID-19 on the Central American region was an important topic during the three days of dialogue, highlighting the challenge and the key importance of the economic reactivation of the SICA member countries, agreeing on the importance of continuing to promote projects and programs that allow the countries to confront the pandemic and implement short and medium term actions that strengthen the regional economy and promote social development.

The importance of supporting the region's reconstruction after the impact of storms ETA and IOTA, through projects to adapt to climate change, was also emphasized. It was also important to strengthen national systems for preparedness and response to emergencies or disasters affecting the countries.

German cooperation has contributed 1.6 billion euros to the Covid-19 Global Access Fund for Vaccines (COVAX) and 4 million euros to the Central American region after hurricanes Eta and Iota.

Among the main areas of cooperation are: support for the economic reactivation of MIPYMES, climate change, renewable energies, sustainable urban mobility, green housing projects with a focus on resilience.

During the consultation session, important data was collected to promote the formulation of opportunities for concrete actions for development and to contribute to the achievements in terms of sustainability and poverty reduction. Likewise, the climate alliance between the institutions was strengthened in order to deepen regional climate investments.