Bulletin on the Integration of Latin America and the Caribbean Edition N 183 February 2013

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1 Bulletin on the Integration of Latin America and the Caribbean Edition N 183 February 2013 Contents ALBA creates Economic Space (1-2) Pacific Alliance adopts integration programme (2) Parliaments of Pacific Alliance endorse free trade (2-3) Trade reaches US$ 10 billion within Andean region (3) CAN convenes Andean Business Meeting 2013 (3) CAN Secretary-General concludes term (3-4) Paraguay expected to rejoin MERCOSUR (4) SUCRE strengthens economies of the region (4-5) SICA and President of Mexico issue joint communiqué (5) Central American Customs Union makes strides (5-6) SICA announces possible community migration policy (6) CARICOM SP urges to strengthen commitment to integration (6-7) OECS Member States assess ability to facilitate trade (7) Highlights of CDB s activities in 2012 (7-8) Ministers of ACS agree on further integration (8) Briefs (8-9) -SIECA - PARLACEN Meeting -Mexico to chair the ACS in 2013 Meetings on integration in March (9) ALBA creates Economic Space Taken from the ALBA Web site Caracas, 6 February.- During their XI Ministerial Summit, held in Caracas on 4 and 5 February, the member countries of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America- Peoples Trade Agreement (ALBA-TCP) decided to create the ALBA-TCP Economic Space, whose main purposes are as follows: Article 1: The purpose of this Agreement is to create the ALBA-TCP (ECOALBA) Economic Space as a shareddevelopment, inter-dependent, sovereign and supportive economic zone aimed at consolidating and enlarging a new alternative model of economic relations that will strengthen and diversify the production apparatus and trade exchanges, as well as establishing the bases for the bilateral and multilateral instruments that the Parties may enter into on this matter, with a view to satisfying the physical and spiritual needs of our peoples. The ALBA-TCP (ECOALBA) Economic Space implies: 1. The planning and streamlining of economic relations among the Parties, by optimizing the complementary productive and commercial linkage. Within this context, this Agreement defines the economic principles that will rule the shared-development process under the perspective of a bloc and not as a mere aggregation of individual countries, which will also allow for its international positioning. 2. The circulation of assets and the linkage of production means among the Parties, which will facilitate full development of their production potentialities and capacities in priority sectors in order to satisfy the needs of our peoples, taking into account intra-regional demand and fostering productive scaling up through various aspects, such as tariff relief, emphasis on the exchange of raw materials, capital assets and intermediate assets, and final consumption assets, and the application of a set of measures that will foster them, based on the Development Plans formulated by each Party. 3. The linkage of economic policies among the Parties in order to ensure adequate conditions for complementarity, performing studies that facilitate the identification and The Latin American and Caribbean Integration Bulletin is a publication of the Permanent Secretariat of SELA which was generated within the framework of the UNESCO-SELA Convention Communications for the Integration of Latin America and the Caribbean of the UNESCO International Programme for the Development of Communications (IPDC). Legal deposit: pp CS183 - ISSN: Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA) - Permanent Secretariat, Apartado Postal 17035, Caracas 1010-A, Venezuela - Visit SELA's Web site in Internet: - Send your comments or suggestions to SELA to: difusion@sela.org

2 assessment of potential common interest spaces in order to formulate the strategies that will determine their interregional relations with regard to third States, blocs of States, trade areas and international agencies. 4. The promotion of a production specialization according to the strengths of each country, but without limiting the integral development of their production apparatus and allowing overcoming the asymmetries existing among the Parties and within such production apparatus. 5. The use of mechanisms and instruments of the new financial architecture designed by the ALBA-TCP, with special emphasis on the consolidation of the Bank of ALBA as an effective instrument to finance grand national and cooperation economic projects, as well as the Regional Clearance Unitary System (SUCRE), which should cover a minimum of twenty percent (20%) of the trade exchange among the Parties, and progressively increase this percentage using therefore measures that promote and foster its use. The full text of the Agreement is available on ALBA-TCP Web site. Pacific Alliance adopts integration programme Published by ElEconomista.com.mx, Mexico Mexico City, 4 February.- The governments of Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Chile adopted an integration programme for their economies which includes completing the negotiations on the accumulation of rules of origin before the end of next March and the union of all their stock exchanges by They also agreed to conclude negotiations to liberalize at least 90% of the goods traded among them by no later than the first quarter of According to the programme, the negotiation on the accumulation of rules of origin is scheduled to conclude before 31 March, said Rafael Urquiza, Head of the Coordination of Foreign Trade Business Organizations (COECE), who stressed this point because the four countries already have free trade agreements (FTAs) among them in effect. The rules of origin refer to the criteria agreed upon in an FTA to define when a good is considered to be native (by virtue of its level of regional contents) so as to enjoy tariff preferences. Thus, the accumulation would allow for greater use of supplies, parts and components from any of the four countries for the production of intermediate or final goods, benefiting from low or zero tariffs if they are traded within the Pacific Alliance. The union of stock exchanges is another fundamental and innovative aspect of this partnership, which aims to build an area of deep integration, moving progressively towards the free movement of goods, services, capital and people among its members. A key aspect of the programme is the so-called integrated Latin American Market. Through this initiative, which came into operation in May, a regional market was created for trading variable-yield securities in Chile, Colombia and Peru. Mexico should join this market in Thus far, the bilateral FTAs of the four nations operate with different tariff reliefs, with a range between 80% and 90% of tariff-free products. Parliaments of Pacific Alliance endorse free trade Published by Agencia Andina, Peru Lima, 14 February.- The parliaments of the Pacific Alliance, made up by Peru, Chile, Colombia and Mexico, agreed in Lima, through their chairmen, to approve the framework agreement institutionalizing that bloc and work to reduce tariffs on their products to zero. During a meeting held in Lima, they agreed that this is the most important real integration effort seen in the region. The meeting was attended by the chairmen of the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia, Augusto Posada Sánchez; of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile, Nicolás Monckeberg Díaz; of the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico, Francisco Arroyo Vieyra; and of the Congress of Peru, Victor Isla. At the end of a solemn ceremony, the chairmen signed a declaration that pledged their support for the adoption of the necessary rules to complement the efforts made by their governments to strengthen this agreement, among them, the standard by which the framework agreement institutionalizing the Pacific Alliance should be approved. Thus far, only Mexico has made progress in this connection. One of the objectives of the agreement is to achieve zerolevel tariff for 90 percent of the products traded among the member countries, in order to eliminate all kinds of barriers to trade exchanges in the near future. The representatives of the legislative powers also highlighted the potential of the Pacific Alliance to negotiate with markets of other regions of the world such as Asia, and present a common stance on various issues in the international community. The Chairman of the Peruvian Congress said that this part of the hemisphere is the main actor of this century because of its growth and potential. He also stressed that exports from the countries of the Pacific Alliance account for 50 percent of the total exports from Latin America. 2/

3 Monckeberg, Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile, said that the zero tariff on products marketed among the member countries should be applied by March, and other measures such as the elimination of visas should also be implemented. We want to turn our continent into a true bridge to Asia and the Pacific, and for that purpose Congresses must move ahead with the adoption of laws to strengthen the process of unity, since so far it has been promoted by the executive powers. Arroyo, Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico, highlighted the good level of economic growth in the countries that form part of the Pacific Alliance. In addition to highlighting this aspect, the representative of the Mexican Congress said that it is necessary to extol the Latin American spirit in each one of the member countries of this bloc, so that it unites us. Posada, Chairman of the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia, said that his country aims at signing 14 new trade agreements by 2014 in order to move towards integration with other partner countries. He highlighted the democratic profile of this integration process, since it is based on principles of respect for this system of government. Trade reaches US$ 10 billion within Andean region Published by ElComercio.com, Ecuador Lima, 20 February.- Trade among the countries of the Andean Community (CAN) increased to US$ 10 billion in 2012, representing an expression of strength, said the outgoing Secretary-General of CAN, Adalid Contreras, adding that, at the beginning of his tenure in 2010, trade between Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru totalled US$ 7 billion. Contreras made an assessment of the economic and social relations within the Andean Community over the last three years. It can be said that in the CAN we are moving from an expanded market for growth to a market for development, said Contreras. The Secretary-General highlighted the increase in social investment in the member countries of CAN from 10.6% in 2006 to 15% of GDP in Contreras also highlighted the adoption of a community standard for the joint fight against illegal mining, the design of an Andean strategy for the fight against drugs and the development of the Amazonian approach for Andean integration. Andean integration is now more pluralistic and participatory because of the important achievements in terms of citizens participation in the Andean Integration System (SAI) and the recognition of Community citizens rights, in addition to national rights, he added. CAN convenes Andean Business Meeting 2013 Taken from the Andean Community Web site Lima, 14 February.- The countries of the Andean Community (CAN), through its export promotion agencies, and the General Secretariat of the Andean convened the Andean Business Meeting 2013 for 24 and 25 April 2013 in Bogotá, Colombia. The event, organized on behalf of the responsible Ministries of Foreign Trade of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, which make up the Andean Community Commission, is aimed at strengthening trade relations among the Andean countries and generating business among participants. The business meeting, which includes a Business Roundtable among exporters and importers, will feature the participation of small, medium and large-sized businessmen from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Representatives of the following productive sectors will attend the Business Roundtable: food, agro-industry and fisheries; flowers; textiles and clothing; jewellery; construction materials; metallurgical industry (automotive parts and supplies for mining); pharmaceutical products; plastics; wood furniture; footwear manufacturing and services (logistics and software). This year s Andean Business Meeting will feature Brazilian businessmen. The objective is to show them the broad range of Andean products and to strengthen the Community s presence in the Brazilian market. For those companies interested in participating in the meeting the organizers have set up a Web site ( where they can find the registration form and the list of contacts of the Andean export promotion agencies: PROMUEVE BOLIVIA, PROECUADOR, PROEXPORT and PROMPERU. The General Secretariat has extended invitations to all the companies doing business in the Andean region to this important business event, as well as labour unions and institutions so as to ensure the success of this Andean Business Meeting. CAN Secretary-General concludes term Taken from the Andean Community Web site Lima, 19 February.- In his last speech as Secretary-General a.i. of the Andean Community, Adalid Contreras Baspineiro, from Bolivia, made a call to strengthen the organizations as well as the South American and Latin American integration processes, emphasizing that integration represents the path towards prosperity and justice. 3/

4 Integration is the sign of liberty of present times. At some stage in the history of our continent the sign were the independence wars, and at a later stage it was the strategies against dependency, nowadays our destiny is to construct Latin American integration, our great Motherland, Contreras said. During the ceremony, in which Contreras presented a report on his mandate as Secretary-General a.i. of CAN, from May 2010 to February 2013, held at the headquarters of the Andean Community, the Foreign Minister of Peru, Rafael Roncagliolo, stated that the reorganization of the Andean Community as noted by Contreras aims to position it as a referential and dynamic actor for greater South American and Latin American integration. Roncagliolo noted that the Presidencies of UNASUR, MERCOSUR and the Andean Community held a meeting in Santiago de Chile on 24 January, with the participation of the Secretariat of ALADI, in which they outlined a programme to make progress towards the convergence of the Andean Community and MERCOSUR. During the ceremony, the authorities agreed to highlight the work carried out by Adalid Contreras in favour of integration. Roncagliolo expressed his gratitude on behalf of the Andean Foreign Ministers for Contreras work, first as General Director and then as Secretary-General. He has managed to keep alive the oldest integration dream in the region, he said, highlighting Contreras contributions to the convergence with other integration systems, thereby placing the Andean Community in a position in which it can help strengthen UNASUR and CELAC. In turn, the Ambassador of Ecuador in Peru, Rodrigo Riofrío, thanked Adalid Contreras, on behalf of the Pro Tempore Presidency of the Andean Community for his great efforts so that the Andean Community is not only an economic but an integral integration process, with special emphasis on social aspects. This allows him to retire with the satisfaction of fulfilled duty, Riofrío said. The Peruvian Adviser of the Advisory Council of Indigenous Peoples of the Andean Community, Antolín Huáscar, on behalf of civil society organizations, highlighted the special support that the Council has received from the General Secretariat of CAN, particularly from Secretary-General Adalid Contreras. We want to thank him not only for being with us at our meetings in this integration organization, but also for his permanent support to strengthen us, Huáscar said. The Secretary-General of the Andean Health Organization - Hipólito Unanue Agreement, Caroline Chang Campos, said that, vis-à-vis the new scenarios, Adalid Contreras has been able to underscore the importance of Andean integration and he has proved that it can be a model for other integration schemes. He has also been a good coordinator of the Andean Integration System, particularly as regards social inclusion issues, she said. The ceremony was attended by senior officials of the Peruvian government, ambassadors and members of the diplomatic corps, representatives of international organizations and of the Andean Integration System, as well as businessmen and representatives of the labour sector, indigenous peoples and people of African descent, artists and academicians, among others. Paraguay expected to rejoin MERCOSUR Published by Xinhua News Agency, China Río de Janeiro, 20 February.- The governments of Argentina and Brazil expect Paraguay to rejoin the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR) as full member pretty soon, after having been suspended in June 2012 due to the ousting of then Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo. The Foreign Ministers of Argentina and Brazil, Antonio Patriota and Héctor Timerman, respectively, expressed their desire for Paraguay to rejoin MERCOSUR as soon as possible so that it can participate in the bloc s negotiations on a free trade agreement with the European Union this year. Patriota and Timerman gathered in Rio de Janeiro to address bilateral, regional and multilateral issues including the possible return of Paraguay to MERCOSUR and to the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR). The host of the meeting, Minister Patriota, expressed his hope that Paraguay can return to MERCOSUR as soon as possible. We are committed to exchange commercial offers with the European Union by the end of 2013 and the expectation is that democratic and transparent elections have been held in Paraguay by then, he said. In turn, Timerman recalled that the return of Paraguay to MERCOSUR and UNASUR is conditional on the democratic normalization in the neighbouring country, but he also expressed his desire for that to happen soon. The return of Paraguay as full member of MERCOSUR could occur after the presidential elections scheduled for 21 April of this year. SUCRE strengthens economies of the region Taken from the SUCRE-ALBA Web site Caracas, 28 February.- The President of the Monetary Council of the Regional Clearance Unitary System, Eudomar Tovar, said in Managua that the SUCRE is an integration tool that will allow for establishing our mutual trade exchanges, which are on the rise. 4/

5 The agreement, which saw the first commercial exchange between Venezuela and Nicaragua, will allow for interconnecting our banks and financial systems, which will facilitate the participation of small and medium-sized entrepreneurs who do not have access to foreign trade, Tovar said. During the first transaction between Venezuela and the Central American country, Tovar noted that the SUCRE will strengthen interdependent banking networks and will generate better conditions to protect our economies from global crises. He recalled that the first commercial operation between Cuba and Venezuela was made in February 2010; the first one between Ecuador and Venezuela was carried out in June 2010; and between Bolivia and Venezuela it was in October In 2012, there were a total of 2,646 payment transactions amounting to 852 million sucres, equivalent to US$ 66 million, an increase of 294% compared to the transactions recorded in 2011, he said. By February of this year, 1,112 payment operations have been made, amounting to 404 million sucres and equivalent to US$ 505 million, which represents a 42% increase, he added. Tovar recalled that on 26 November 2008, during the third Summit of the ALBA-TCP, the Heads of State, in view of the persisting global financial and economic crisis, with the purpose of keeping our economies afloat, agreed on the creation of a monetary zone: a clearing house, a common currency unit and a reserve fund. Five months later, the agreement on the SUCRE was signed, and on 27 January 2010 it came into force. SICA and President of Mexico issue joint communiqué Taken from SICA Web site San Salvador, 20 February.- The Special Meeting of Heads of State and Government of the Central American Integration System (SICA) with the President of Mexico was held on 20 February 2013 in San José, Costa Rica. The leaders stated their willingness to start a new stage in relations between the member countries of SICA and Mexico, based on their political, social, cultural and economic affinities, as well as cooperation. They reaffirmed that democracy, promotion and defence of human rights, the rule of law, plurality, tolerance, inclusion and social justice are values and principles common to all the countries of the region. They underscored the privileged and special nature of that relationship and expressed their commitment to strengthen it by taking advantage of the growing dynamism in the political, economic, security, social, environmental, and cultural inter-relations existing between the parties. They made emphasis on the coincidence of interests among their countries, based on shared values, which makes it possible to search for common solutions to the problems affecting them, through dialogue and political agreement, based on complementarity and taking asymmetries into account. Finally, they highlighted the contributions of the Tuxtla Mechanism for Dialogue and Coordination, particularly the Mesoamerican Integration and Development Project, in expanding and promoting political dialogue on economic, commercial and financial matters; regional cooperation; and in building a common integration area. Central American Customs Union makes strides Taken from SIECA Web site Guatemala City, 8 February.- The I Round of the Central American Customs Union for the first half of 2013 was held in Costa Rica, with the participation of the Vice Ministers for Central American Economic Integration, Integration Directors, the Secretariat of Central American Economic Integration (SIECA) and technical groups of the countries. In compliance with the provisions of the Action Plan of the Pro Tempore Presidency held by Costa Rica, as approved by the Council of Ministers of Central American Economic Integration (COMIECO), meetings were held by the Sub- Group on Medicines and Related Products, in charge of revising the Central American Technical Regulations on natural medicinal products for human use, pharmaceutical products, natural medicinal products for human use, best practices in manufacturing and its verification guide, and the registration requirements for medicines for human use. The Sub-Group on Food and Beverages was in charge of revising the regulations related to food, microbiological criteria for food innocuousness, as well as the General Technical Regulations for cheeses and creams. The Sub-Group on Agricultural Inputs conducted the revision of the Technical Regulations concerning the requirements for the registration of technical grade active ingredient, formulated chemical pesticides and related substances for agricultural use, and the requirements for labelling and leaflets of formulated chemical pesticides. The Sub-Group made significant progress in each of the aforementioned topics. 5/

6 In this context, the Economic Integration Directors held a meeting in which they received the reports on the progress made with the revisions and the negotiations of the Central American Technical Regulations, which were analyzed. The Directors postponed the approval of said Regulations until the next meeting of COMIECO. They also received the modifications in the Central American Tariff on Imports and tariff openings. The Meeting of Vice-Ministers of Economic Integration was held on 7 February. They dealt with issues related to the upcoming entry into force of the partnership agreement with the European Union (EU), the regulations on quotas with the EU and the joint tariff reduction programme. They also discussed the transposition of the rules of origin of the Free Trade Agreement between the Central American countries and Chile, and informed about the results of the meeting of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), recently held in Santiago of Chile. SIECA is the technical and administrative body of the Central American economic integration process with legal personality under international law. SICA announces possible community migration policy Taken from SICA Web site San Salvador, 22 February.- The Secretary-General of the Central American Integration System (SICA), Juan Daniel German Gurdián, from Nicaragua, was interviewed by Mercados & Tendencias magazine on the region s need to have a social policy to protect immigrants. How do you perceive the situation of labour immigration in the region? We are witnessing unusual phenomena, such as the case of Panama, for example, which is going through an economic expansion and has become a recipient country of Central American labour force, even Costa Rican engineers and businesses. Another example is Belize, whose population is 23% or 27% from Salvadoran origin, which is an outstanding percentage. There is even a city called Salvapan in Belize. What does this reality mean? We can analyze it from two standpoints. Firstly, from the perspective of the reality of Central America: Nicaraguan and Honduran citizens arrive in El Salvador for the coffee harvesting season, attracted by the dollars circulating in that country. Secondly, they do so because it is impossible for them to migrate to other countries such as Mexico or the United States. Another aspect is the way in which Nicaraguans have contributed to the Costa Rican economy, which is in great need of workers. Domestic work in various countries is generating a cross-cultural exchange in Central America, because children learn new words and flavours and gain a much more interesting vision of the region. But it also raises the challenge of social security. Central America still has a pending task with these workers who are displaced in Central America in their search for jobs. Is there much informality? There is informality. Labour immigration is not well regulated. Has this issue been discussed at the presidential level? Yes, it has. We are about to adopt an immigration policy at the regional level, but it has not been approved yet. Is SICA focusing on this issue? It is harmonizing interests. That is: How can both parties benefit from each other? If a country provides labour force to another, how can the latter reward the former? Not only from the point of view of money, but also with social services. CARICOM SP urges to strengthen commitment to integration Taken from CARICOM Web site Georgetown, 18 February.- The Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, has issued a charge to the region to stave off existing challenges by strengthening our commitment to integration as the only way for us all to survive and prosper. The Secretary-General was at the time addressing the opening ceremony of the Twenty-Fourth Intersessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM at the Karibe Hotel in Petion Ville, Haiti. Haiti hosted the two-day meeting for the first time since it became a member of the Community in Haiti assumed the Chairmanship of CARICOM in January as the Community began observing its 40th anniversary. Let the strength and resilience of the Haitian people be a guide and inspiration as we go forward in the next 40 years, the Secretary-General said. He added that as the Community looked back with justifiable pride in its achievements over the last 40 years, it must embrace the promise of the future through new ideas and perspectives, since the achievement of the past was no guarantee of success in the future. The Secretary-General told his audience that the Community needed to change with the times, since the circumstances, 6/

7 society, and the nature of the challenges which fashioned its approach to integration had changed. As we go forward to the next 40 years, in accepting that the imperative for integration of our small states is undeniable, we also have to accept that we must change our modes of operation if we are to deliver to our people the standard of living they desire, LaRocque said. He pointed out that for integration to make an impact among the people, change must be pervasive and embrace all facets of the work of the Community. Change has already begun at the CARICOM Secretariat, the administrative body of the Community, with a change facilitation team in place there following a mandate from the Heads of Government. Reviews have already been conducted at Regional Security Institutions, while the programme of reviews will continue with other institutions and organizations involved in integration arrangements. OECS Member States assess ability to facilitate trade Taken from OECS Web site Castries, 18 February.- A series of national consultations for identifying national and regional measures to better facilitate trade in keeping with the emerging commitments being negotiated on Trade Facilitation in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) took place for OECS Member States. The first session in the series opened in Castries with follow up consultations scheduled for the other OECS Member States over February and March. The objective of the negotiations was to simplify and harmonize international trade procedures such as payment of fees, access to information and cooperation between customs and other authorities. Trade Facilitation refers to the processes and procedures involved in moving goods across borders. These include the fees required and time it takes to carry out such payments, notification of new measures, the use of customs brokers, compliance with border procedures and the time taken to have matters regarding processes and procedures relating to the clearance of goods redressed. Programme Officer at the OECS Secretariat s Trade Policy Unit Alicia Stephen said since August 2012, OECS Member States have been reviewing the draft text of the agreement and assessing their ability to implement the provisions: Trade Facilitation is one area in which if we improve our practices and procedures such as the clearing of goods at the ports for wholesalers or retailers and consumers we can become more competitive and reduce the cost of doing business. Also for our own regional agenda, we are engaged in implementing the OECS Economic Union in which the Common Market is an important part and Trade Facilitation is one area in which we can improve the ease of doing business within the single space and also reduce the cost of doing business. The text currently includes 39 measures and officials from the public and private sectors are expected to agree on the timelines, actions and resources required to implement them by using regional and national approaches. Trade Facilitation is a key element of the OECS Economic Union and this work is expected to advance regional efforts toward the creation of the single economic space as well as informing the OECS engagement in the WTO negotiations. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is assisting this effort, as part of the UNCTAD project on Implementation Plans for WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement in Developing Members, financed by the European Union and Norway. Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce, Business Development Investment and Consumer Affairs Peter Lorde said that in this rapidly changing global economy Trade Facilitation should be adopted as a tool for economic development thereby developing comprehensive national tools and strategies and mainstreaming them into the national development plan. Addressing the meeting, he said a national Trade Facilitation road map will inform the national and regional Trade Facilitation development strategy and once implemented is expected to improve Saint Lucia s Business climate. Referring to Saint Lucia s current top position in the World Bank ranking for ease of doing business in CARICOM, Lorde also said there is need to continue to move forward and embrace the right reforms. Highlights of CDB s activities in 2012 Taken from CDB Web site Barbados, 8 February.- In 2012, the operations of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) continued to be influenced by the lingering effects of the global financial crisis. As a consequence of the difficult economic environment, reduced fiscal space for undertaking capital expenditure, and strict control over public sector spending across the region, demand for CDB financing declined, once again. Loan approval and disbursement performances in 2012 were lower than originally anticipated. Loan approvals totalled US$ 104 million, down from US$ 144 million in Similarly, loan disbursements in 2012 totalled only US$ 85 million compared with US$ 167 million in CDB s financing activities in 2012 supported a range of 7/

8 activities, including road rehabilitation and upgrade (Guyana and St. Vincent and the Grenadines); education sector reform to enhance human capital (Belize); student loans (Jamaica); water and sewerage (Belize and Dominica) and disaster rehabilitation and emergency relief (Bahamas, Dominica, Haiti and St. Lucia). There were several noteworthy approvals in First, the largest loan (US$ 34.2 million) was made to Guyana for the West Coast Demerara Road Improvement Project. Second, a technical assistance loan for US$ 3.6 million was approved to assist the Government of Barbados improve the efficiency and effectiveness of revenue administration through the establishment of a Central Revenue Authority. Third, a US 5.2 million loan and a US$ 105,000 grant for Youth and Community Transformation in Belize marked the Bank s first intervention in the area of citizen security. The uncertain global environment, tentative economic growth across the region, and declining creditworthiness of some of CDB s Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs) were among major concerns raised by international credit rating agencies and influenced the credit downgrades received by CDB from both Moody s Investors Service and Standard and Poor s Ratings Services during the year. Ministers of ACS agree on further integration Published by LaEstrella.com.pa, Panama Panama City, 23 February.- The 28 representatives of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) agreed to promote the political, economic and cooperation exchange during the closing ceremony of the three-day XVIII Ordinary Meeting of the Ministerial Council of the organization, held in Panama City. However, the ACS ministers warned that we must strengthen trade and investment, tourism, transport and reduction of vulnerabilities, mainly natural disasters in the Greater Caribbean. One of the outstanding issues under discussion at the meeting was the participation of the Panamanian aviation industry, which along with Colombia could facilitate connectivity between the member countries of the ACS. The Deputy Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, Vanessa Rubio M., said that Haiti is awaiting a political dialogue, leading to a sincere and straightforward exchange in terms of what is expected from this organization, to obtain tangible results. Mexico will embark on the task of achieving this goal to lead the organization to where we want to, so that we all feel convinced that this organization is useful for us to integrate more, to have better infrastructure and better connectivity, and be less vulnerable to natural disasters, Rubio said. The meeting evaluated the progress reports on the arrangements for the V Summit of Heads of State and Government of the ACS, the results of which are expected to meet the challenges posed for about 250 million Caribbean people. Among the pending topics are agreements on tourism, transport, trade and prevention of natural disasters, which will be submitted for consideration of the leaders at their V Summit, to be held from 23 to 26 April in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Francisco Álvarez De Soto, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Panama, said at a press conference that the agenda for the three-day event was filled with commitments by Member States, which agreed on the need to maintain and further strengthen ties for cooperation and exchange. At the meeting, the second being held in the isthmus, participants decided that the committee for disaster prevention will be chaired by Honduras; for transport, by Suriname; for trade, by Colombia; for tourism, by Martinique; for budget, by Mexico; and the Special Fund, by Panama, Alvarez De Soto explained. In addition, the Government of Panama received the recognition from the members of the ACS for its work as chair of the Ministerial Council and of the committee for budget and administration. Álvarez De Soto explained that his country complied with the mandates of institutional reorganization by improving the new administrative structure of the Secretariat, restructuring the work programme and the budget and management unit to strengthen its management capacity, making amendments to the Manual of Procedures and creating a code of ethics and a communication strategy. Briefs SIECA PARLACEN Meeting Guatemala City, 19 February (SIECA).- The Secretary General of SIECA, Ernesto Torres Chico, met with members of the Commission on Integration, Trade and Economic Development of the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN) at the headquarters of the Secretariat in Guatemala City. On behalf of the above-mentioned parliamentary Commission, the following representatives attended the meeting: Manuel de Jesús Pichardo, President; Sandra Noriega Seiro, Vice President; Jorge Abudoj Frixione and Carlos Roberto Montoya. On the part of SIECA, José Carlos García, Director of Economic Integration and Trade, participated. During the meeting, participants exchanged information and views on issues related to Central American economic integration, such as the advances in terms of tariff harmonization, trade facilitation, trade rules; and the 8/

9 necessary efforts leading to the gradual consolidation of the customs union. In addition, they discussed other aspects related to the forthcoming entry into force of the Partnership Agreement between Central America and the European Union. Mexico to chair the ACS in 2013 Panama City, 23 February (Xinhua).- Mexico assumed the position of Chair of the Ministerial Council of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) for 2013, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of that country said. The Mexican Foreign Minister, José Antonio Meade, met in Panama City with Foreign Ministers and Deputy Foreign Ministers who attended the Summit of the ACS, and took the opportunity to ratify Mexico s commitment to the Greater Caribbean region. He pointed out that the Caribbean Sea is not only a geographical circumstance where the member countries of the Association come together, but also an element of shared identity and an essential resource for the development of our nations. He also stressed the high priority attached to this region by Mexico due to, among other reasons, the close historical ties and the fact that it represents their third border. In addition, he underscored the potential of the region to enter global markets and productive chains as a group, stressing the importance of activities being carried out by the ACS in the fields of trade, transport, tourism and cooperation to achieve that goal. Meetings on integration in March Forty-Second Special Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) Georgetown, Guyana (19) CARICOM 9/