CABEI AND BANCOLDEX PROMOTE FOREIGN TRADE BETWEEN COLOMBIA AND CENTRAL AMERICA

A US$50 million credit line granted today by the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) will bolster trade between Central America and Colombia.

The agreement between CABEI and the state-owned development and export-import Banco del Comercio Exterior de Colombia (BANCOLDEX), which will intermediate the funds to promote and expand trade between Colombia the Central American region, was formalized at a global credit line agreement signing. It was signed by CABEI Executive Vice President, Mr. Alejandro Rodríguez Zamora, and the BANCOLDEX Vice President of Operations, Mr. Jorge García Andrade.

CABEI’s Vice President emphasized the importance of the event because it will be the first operation formalized by the Central Bank of Colombia. The funds will be used to take advantage of complementarities among the economies of CABEI’s member countries and to promote mutual investments to achieve higher development levels in benefit of the region’s inhabitants.

The US$50 million credit line that will provide support to foreign trade operations between businesspeople from Colombia and the Central American region was established with the support of the CABEI Director for Colombia, Mr. Alonso Acosta Osío, who proposed the credit line agreement to his fellow members on the Bank’s Board of Directors.

In addition to financing public sector programs and projects in the Central American countries and its beneficiary countries, CABEI supports the region’s private sector and strengthens financial institutions in order to expand the range of its activities. CABEI currently has a network of more than 130 intermediary financial institutions in the Central American region.

Through July 2012, CABEI disbursed a total of US$ 917.5 million in support of regional development, reaffirming its position as the main source of multilateral financing for the region’s growth and development.

As Central America’s Development Bank, CABEI currently focuses its work on four strategic axes, which include social development, competitiveness, regional integration and environmental sustainability, as defined by its Institutional Strategy.

As part of this Strategy, the Bank is channeling 5 billion dollars to the region to improve the quality of life of its 50 million inhabitants.