Investment in strategic sectors and international cooperation are key to the development of the region at the current critical juncture

Government representatives and international organizations recognized today the importance of investing in sectors that promote economic growth, the decarbonization of economies and social inclusion to advance the sustainable development of Latin America and the Caribbean in the current context of crisis, during the second day of thirty-ninth session of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), which is being held until Wednesday the 26th in Argentina.

The day began with the High level seminar. Panel 3 – Investment and sectoral strategies: drivers of sustainable developmentmoderated by Mercedes Marcó del Pont, Secretary of Strategic Affairs of Argentina, in which the need to advance in the diversification and productive transformation of the countries of the region based on digital technologies and innovation to improve productivity was underlined, generate quality jobs and close inequality gaps.

In this framework, the flows of foreign investment, they indicated, should be aligned with the development objectives of the countries and leverage their industrial and technological capacity. This requires planning, availability of labor force, regulatory framework and financing, the representatives emphasized.

If the abundant natural resources of the region are not taken advantage of to transform the productive structures of the countries, we could face a new lost decade, was raised during the panel in which some strategic sectors were analyzed, such as agri-food systems, medical devices and sustainable tourism, to name a few.

Subsequently, it was carried out High level seminar. Panel 4 – International cooperation in the face of a new multilateralismmoderated by Sabina Frederic, President of the White Helmets Argentine Agency for International Cooperation and Humanitarian Assistance, in which it was reiterated that development classifications based solely on the per capita income criterion do not reflect multidimensional vulnerabilities, structural gaps and development needs. financing and technical cooperation of the countries of the region, even more so in the current scenario described by the Executive Secretary of ECLAC, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, as a “development crisis”.

The representatives assured that the progressive “graduation” of the Latin American and Caribbean countries from Official Development Assistance (ODA) threatens the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the 2030 Agenda, for which they seek to advance in the “development in transition” approach, as well as strengthening multilateralism, South-South and triangular cooperation and mixed funds, among other bilateral, regional and bi-regional cooperation modalities (with strategic partners such as Europe).

During the afternoon, Raúl García-Buchaca, Deputy Executive Secretary for Administration and Analysis of Programs of ECLAC, presented to the delegates the activity report 2021 and draft work program 2024 of this United Nations regional commission.

“ECLAC’s work program for 2024 is aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and geared towards a transformative recovery so as not to leave anyone behind,” said the official, who thanked the countries for the trust and support received. in the nearly 75 years of existence of the organization.

Subsequently, it was revealed reports on the activities of the subsidiary bodies of ECLAC and the results of other intergovernmental meetings organized by ECLAC since its thirty-eighth session, including the Conference on Science, Innovation and Information and Communication Technologies, the Regional Planning Council, the Statistical Conference of the Americas, the Committee on South-South Cooperation, the Committee on Caribbean Development and Cooperation (CDCC), the Regional Intergovernmental Conference on Aging and the Rights of Older Persons in Latin America and the Caribbean.

They were joined by the Conference of the Parties to the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean (whose XV edition will take place from November 7 to 11, 2022 also in Argentina), the Ministerial Conference on the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Regional Conference on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean.

On the closing day of the thirty-ninth session of ECLAC, which is being held at the Kirchner Cultural Center and which brings together the 46 member states and 14 associated countries of the Commission, a dialogue between foreign ministers and high authoritieswhich includes speeches by Santiago Cafiero, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship of Argentina, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs and Josep Borrell, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union and Vice President of the European Commission among other officials.