Eurasian Economic Union and Latin America and the Caribbean: cooperation for greater regional integration

introduction

Following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding by the Permanent Secretary of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA), Ambassador Javier Paulinich, and then Minister in charge of Integration and Macroeconomics of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Ms. Tatiana Valovaya, in order to promote inter-institutional cooperation between both regions, the Seminar "Eurasian Economic Union and Latin America and the Caribbean: Cooperation for greater regional integration" will be held. This event is being organized by the Permanent Secretariat of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA), together with the Government of the Republic of Guatemala through the Ministry of Economy (MINECO), the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) through the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Guatemala and the Central American Economic Integration Secretariat (SIECA), and will be held in Antigua, Guatemala, on 23 and 24 September of this year.

The main objective of this seminar is to identify opportunities and challenges for strengthening relations between Latin America and the Caribbean and the Eurasian region. For this purpose we have invited a diversity of experts and speakers from multilateral organizations, private companies, government representatives and academics to participate during two days of work sessions where we will proceed to: i) evaluate a cooperation agenda in the field of regional integration between the governments of the EAEU and Latin America and the Caribbean; ii) analyze opportunities for the formation of trade and cooperation agreements between the business community of the EAEU countries and the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean; iii) identify areas for cooperation in the field of regional economic integration among the governments of the countries of the EAEU and of Latin America and the Caribbean; iv) propose the creation of a monitoring group for economic relations between the countries that make up the EAEU and those of Latin America and the Caribbean, which monitors and promotes the formation of alliances between SMEs in both regions; and, v) present the opportunities to forge business and cooperation agreements between the MSMEs of the EAEU and those of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Background and justification

On 24 May 2018, the Permanent Secretariat of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA), Ambassador Javier Paulinich, and the Minister for Integration and Macroeconomics of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), Ms. Tatiana Valovaya, signed a Memorandum of Understanding in order to promote inter-institutional cooperation between the two regions. This document was signed during the Intercontinental Dialogue on Economic Cooperation between the EEU and countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, held at the headquarters of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) with the participation of Latin American ambassadors accredited to Russia.

It should be noted that the EEU is a supranational organization of the economic area of Eurasia, comprising Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia.

The main objective of the EEU is to develop a single market through the free movement of goods, capital, services and persons. The EEU is seen as an energy power. In 2018, it produced 20.2% of natural gas and 14.5% of oil and natural gas condensate in the world, with the bloc being the largest global producer of these raw materials. The EEU also produces 4.9% of the world’s electrical energy and 6.9% of carbon, which makes it the third and fourth world producer, respectively. In Kazakhstan, energy is the main economic sector. The country has about 4 billion tons of proven recoverable oil reserves and 2 thousand cubic kilometres of gas reserves. Kazakhstan is the 17th largest exporter of oil in the world and the 23rd exporter of natural gas. Russia has the largest reserves of natural gas in the world.

In this connection, there is a large space for improving cooperation relations between Latin America and the Caribbean and the EEU, as well as for enhancing trade relations and incentives between both regions, because they contain valuable know-how in the production and exploitation of natural resources and thus can draw on the best practices and promote the exchange of technology.

The Memorandum of Understanding between SELA and the CEE was signed on the basis of the competitive advantages and similarities of each region. The document is based on issues of regional integration and inclusive economic growth. The agreement reinforced the desire to share best practices on economic integration, intra-regional trade, development of labour market, growth of competitiveness, improvement of regulatory framework, consumer protection and development of a methodology to assess the progress of regional integration processes. It should be noted in particular that that this Memorandum contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development), adopted by Resolution 70/1 of the United Nations General Assembly, adopted on 25 September 2015.

The EEU and SELA recognized the potential of an alliance between them to leverage inter-regional trade in goods and services. In order to move towards the development of such potential and the materialization of such mutually convenient alliance, SELA included in its Work Programme for the year 2019 a space aimed at strengthening cooperation ties to promote the best opportunities in both regions.

Objectives

Evaluate a cooperation agenda on regional integration between the governments of the EEU and those of Latin America and the Caribbean;
Analyze opportunities for the establishment of trade and cooperation agreements between the business community of the countries in the EEU and that of Latin America and the Caribbean, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs);
Identify areas for cooperation in the field of regional economic integration between the governments of the EEU and those of Latin America and the Caribbean;
Propose the creation of a group to follow up economic relations between the countries making up the EEU and those in Latin America and the Caribbean, monitor and promote the formation of alliances among SMEs in both regions; and
Present the opportunities for the establishment of business and cooperation agreements between SMEs in the EEU and those in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Agenda

Monday, 23 September 2019

Morning
8:30 - 9:00	REGISTRATION
9:00 – 10:00	OPENING SESSION Ambassador Oscar Hernández, Director of Relations for Integration and Cooperation of the Permanent Secretariat of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA). Julio Dougherty, Vice-Minister of Integration and Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Economy (MINECO) of Guatemala. Toty Kaliaskarova, Director of the Macroeconomic Policy Department of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC). Melvin E. Redondo, Secretary-General. Secretariat for Central American Economic Integration (SIECA). Irma Amaya, President of the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN). Alexander Khokholikov, Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Guatemala. Ara Aivazian, Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia in Mexico. Andrian Yelemessov, Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Mexico. Eduardo Espinoza, Director of the Centre for Studies of the Secretariat for Central American Economic Integration (SIECA).
10:00 – 10:30	OFFICIAL PHOTO
10:30 – 11:15	INTRODUCTORY SESSION: CONTEXT OF RELATIONS BETWEEN THE EURASIAN REGION AND LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN Andrés Serbin, Chief Executive of Regional Coordination for Economic and Social Research (CRIES) Igor Paunovic, Senior Economist and Director at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Yaroslav Lisovolik, Programme Director of Valdai Club
	This introductory session will focus on the historical context of relations between the Eurasian region and Latin America and the Caribbean and on the analysis of opportunities and obstacles to cooperation and integration between the two regions, as well as the potential areas for development to strengthen bi-regional relations. Each participant will have the floor for 10 minutes.
11:15 – 11:30	COFFEE BREAK
11:30 – 12:15	SESSION I: COOPERATION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF REGIONAL INTEGRATION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH BETWEEN THE EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION AND LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN Moderator: Andrés Serbin, Chief Executive of Coordinadora Regional de InvestigacionesEconómicas y Sociales (CRIES) Andrey Panteleev, Head of the Economic Policy Strategy Section of the Macroeconomic Policy Department of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) & Larissa Plachinda, First Secretary of the Russian Embassy in Guatemala. Cooperation between EAEU and Latin America and the Caribbean for the Development of Regional Integration and Economic Growth. Larissa Plachinda, First Secretary of the Russian Embassy in Guatemala. Eurasia – América Latina: juntos en la diversidad de la integración. Melvin E. Redondo, Secretary-General. Secretariat for Central American Economic Integration (SIECA). Andrian Yelemessov, Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Mexico. La Unión Económica Euroasiática, Kazajstán y América Latina y el Caribe: una cooperación posible. Ambassador Estuardo Meneses, Director of the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala. Eduardo Espinoza, Director of the Centre for Studies of the Secretariat for Central American Economic Integration (SIECA). La integración económica regional y sus vínculos con los mercados internacionales.
	This session will be aimed at analyzing the potential of cooperation and integration relations between the two geographic regions, the advantages that these relations may represent for the economic, trade and investment development at bi-regional level, and the perspectives of each integration organization about these bi-regional relations. Each participant will have the floor for 15 minutes.
12:15 – 12:45	GENERAL DEBATE
12:45 – 2:30	LUNCH
Afternoon
2:30 – 4:00	SESSION II: POTENTIAL FOR DEVELOPMENT OF ECONOMIC, TRADE AND INVESTMENT RELATIONS BETWEEN THE EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION AND LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN Moderator: Eduardo Espinoza, Director of the Centre for Studies on Economic Integration of the Secretariat for Central American Economic Integration (SIECA) Juan Pablo Maldonado Ayala, President of the Russian-Guatemalan Chamber of Commerce (RUS-CAM). Tatiana Mashkova, Director-General of the National Committee for Economic Cooperation with Latin American Countries (CN CEPLA). Colaboración entre Rusia y los países LAC en etapa actual. Sergio Nyrkov, President of Compañía del Rio. Cooperación comercial y económica entre Rusia y los países de América Latina - RUSTRANS ATLANTIC Igor Paunovic, Senior Economist and Director at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). El contexto global cambiante. El contexto global cambiante ¿Cómo aprovecharlo? Olaf de Groot, Chief (a.i) of the Trade and Industry Unit of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). La Unión Económica Euroasiática y América Latina y el Caribe: oportunidades comerciales.
	This session will focus on the perspectives of trade promotion and export agencies about the economic, trade and investment relations between Latin America and the Caribbean and the Eurasian region, as well as the possibilities of enhancing new trade and investment opportunities. Each participant will have 15 minutes for presentation.
4:00 - 4:30	GENERAL DEBATE
4:30 - 4:45	COFFEE BREAK
4:45 - 5:30	SPECIAL SESSION: CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE CENTRAL AMERICAN PARLIAMENT (PARLACEN) TO THE FULFILLMENT OF THE 2030 AGENDA AND THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS Moderator: Larissa Plachinda, First Secretary of the Russian Embassy in Guatemala. Andrey Panteleev, Jefe de la Sección de Estrategias de Política Económica del Departamento de Política Macroeconómica de la Comisión Económica Euroasiática (CEE). José Alejandro Bravo Serrano, Secretario de Asuntos Parlamentarios del Parlamento Centroamericano (PARLACEN). El Parlamento Centroamericano frente al desafío de los objetivos de la Agenda 2030. Larissa Plachinda, Primera Secretaria de la Embajada de Rusia en Guatemala. Implementation of the SDGS at the subregional level: The EAEU Focus.
	This special session will enable participants to gain knowledge about the work being carried out by the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN), in compliance with the Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda, as well as the status of cooperation relations between the Central American region and the Eurasian Economic Union.
5:45 – 6:30	LAUNCH AND PRESENTATION OF THE BOOK: "EURASIA AND LATIN AMERICA IN A MULTIPOLAR WORLD" BY DR. ANDRÉS SERBIN
Tuesday, 24September 2019
Morning
9:00 - 11:00	SESSION III: POTENTIAL FOR DEVELOPMENT OF ECONOMIC, TRADE AND INVESTMENT RELATIONS BETWEEN THE EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION AND LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN Moderator: Samuel A. Diaz Pulgar, Analista de Relaciones de la Dirección de Relaciones para la Integración y Cooperación de la Secretaria Permanente del Sistema Económico Latinoamericano y del Caribe (SELA) Eduardo Alonzo, Regional Advisor on International Cooperation at the Regional Centre for the Promotion of Micro and Small Enterprises in Central America (CENPROMYPE). Las Mipyme en el esquema de integración regional. María del Pilar Neira, Commercial Counsellor for Central America of the Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investment and Fisheries (PROECUADOR). Relación comercial bilateral Ecuador–Unión Económica Euroasiática. Olga Lucía Pérez Garzón, Director of the Directorate for Cooperation and Agreements (PROCOLOMBIA). Oportunidades de negocio en Colombia. Amador Federico Velásquez García-Monterroso, Ambassador of Peru in Guatemala. La Unión Económica Euroasiática y el Perú. Shirley Aguilar, Asesora Económica de la Cámara de Comercio de Guatemala. Potencialidades de las relaciones económicas, comerciales y de inversión entre la Unión Económica Euroasiática y América Latina y el Caribe. This session will focus on the perspectives of trade and export promotion agencies about the economic, trade and investment relations between Latin America and the Caribbean and the Eurasian region, as well as the possibilities of enhancing new trade and investment opportunities. Each participant will have 15 minutes for presentation.
11:00 – 11:15	COFFEE BREAK
11:15 – 12:15	SESSION OF CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Moderator: Ambassador Oscar Hernández, Director of Relations for Integration and Cooperation of the Permanent Secretariat of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA) Andrés Serbin, Chief Executive of Regional Coordination for Economic and Social Research (CRIES). Larissa Plachinda, First Secretary of the Russian Embassy in Guatemala. Toty Kaliaskarova, Director of the Macroeconomic Policy Department of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC). Eduardo Espinoza, Director of the Centre for Studies of the Secretariat for Central American Economic Integration (SIECA).
	This session will be aimed at collecting the main points of agreement and consensus among participants, identifying interinstitutional joint work and lines of action that will allow for strengthening bi-regional cooperation and integration relations, and taking advantage of trade and investment relations between the Eurasian region and Latin America and the Caribbean and the space for the development of small and medium-sized enterprises. Each participant will have 15 minutes for presentation.
12:15 – 1:00	CLOSING SESSION Ambassador Oscar Hernández, Director of Relations for Integration and Cooperation of the Permanent Secretariat of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA) Eduardo Espinoza, Director of the Centre for Studies of the Secretariat for Central American Economic Integration (SIECA) Representative of the Ministry of Economy of Guatemala (MINECO) () Alexander Khokholikov*, Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Guatemala
1:00 – 2:30	LUNCH

Logistics

Venue and date

The Seminar “Eurasian Economic Union and Latin America and the Caribbean: Cooperation for greater regional integration” will be held in Antigua, Guatemala, on 23 and 24 September 2019.

Languages

The official language for the event will be Spanish.

Hotels

Contact: Paloma Jacobo, Sales Executive
Hotel Camino Real
7ª Calle Poniente 33B, Antigua Guatemala
(+502) 7873-7000 / 2410-5030
E-mail: Pamela_jacobo@caminorealantigua.com.gt
Web page: www.caminorealantigua.com.gt

In case additional support is required, please contact at SELA:
Ms. Cora Romero
Travels and Arrangements Official
Administration Management, Personnel and General Services
Permanent Secretariat
Telephone: +58(212) 9557111 y 9557124
Fax: +58(212) 9516901 y 9515292
E-mail: cromero@sela.org;

Ms. Ana Milena Corredor
Executive Secretary
Permanent Secretariat
Telephone: +58(212) 9557111 y 9557102
Fax: +58(212) 9516901 y 9515292
E-mail: acorredor@sela.org

Dress code

Formal attire.

Transport

We recommended the use of the taxi service provided by the hotel.

Participants

Participation in this Meeting is subject to the invitations forwarded by the co-sponsors.

This Seminar is mainly aimed at regional and subregional integration organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean and the Eurasian Economic Union, institutions that promote small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and national export promotion agencies.

Information on migration

For information on migration to enter the Republic of Guatemala, please visit the following Web page:

http://igm.gob.gt/requisitos-migratorios-para-ingresar-al-pais/

Contacts

Permanent Secretariat of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA), Venezuela.

Coordination by the Permanent Secretariat of SELA:

Ambassador Oscar Hernández
Director of Relations for Integration and Cooperation.
Direction of Relations for Integration and Cooperation
Permanent Secretariat of SELA
Telephone: +58 212 955.7115 / 955.7111
E-mail: ohernandez @sela.org
Web page: http://www.sela.org

Javier Gordon Ruiz
Coordinator of Relations with Regional and Extra-Regional Organizations
Direction of Relations for Integration and Cooperation
Permanent Secretariat of SELA
Telephone: (58-212)-955-7111 / 955-7135
E-mail: jgordon@sela.org

Samuel Díaz
Analyst of Relations
Direction of Relations for Integration and Cooperation
Telephone: (58-212) 955-7114
E-mail: sdiaz@sela.org

Ministry of Economy (MINECO)

Rocío Molina
Director of Cooperation Programmes and Projects
Ministry of Economy
Telephone: +502-2412-0200 Ext. 5400
E-mail: rmolina@mineco.gob.gt
Web page: http://www.mineco.gob.gt

Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Guatemala

Larisa Plachinda
First Secretary
Telephone: +502-5460-9799
E-mail: plachinda@mid.ru