Germany, SICA and CABEI hold first negotiations on regional cooperation
US$80 million in new approvals to promote the economy, security and the environment
Germany has reaffirmed its strong support for the Central American Integration System (SICA) and for the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) by assigning new funds amounting to more than 70 million euros (approximately US$80 million) for environmental and natural resource protection, renewable energy and energy efficiency promotion, sustainable economic development and youth violence prevention.
The current portfolio of ongoing financial and technical cooperation projects involving SICA, CABEI and Germany amounts to more than 550 million euros (US$620 million).
The new allocations are the result of the first formal negotiations between the German government and representatives from SICA and CABEI, which took place on October 20, 22 and 23 in Tegucigalpa and San Salvador. The German delegation was headed by Dr. Michael Grewe, Interim Head for the Department of Central America, the Caribbean and Mexico of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). SICA was represented by its Secretary General Dr. Victoria Marina Velásquez de Avilés and CABEI by its Executive President Dr. Nick Rischbieth.
The new funds will be targeted at projects that promote green credits at micro, small and medium enterprises; the protection of the Mayan Jungle; the Trifinio Plan; and youth employment and violence prevention. Germany also committed to co-financing the disaster risk insurance alliance that has recently been established among the Central American and Caribbean countries.
Several SICA organizations participated in the negotiations, including its Secretary General; the Executive Secretary of CCAD; the Executive Director of CENPROMYPE; the Secretary General of SISCA; the Executive Trinational Secretary of the Trifinio Plan; the Executive Secretary of COSEFIN; and the Executive President of CABEI. The German delegation was accompanied by the German Ambassadors to Honduras and El Salvador and included representatives from the Federal Foreign Affairs Ministry, the respective embassies and the executing agencies of the BMZ, GIZ and KfW.
