Past events

The Permanent Secretariat of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA) and the Secretariat of the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR) will hold the “Regional Meeting on productive integration and strategic alliances” in Montevideo, Uruguay, on 16 and 17 November 2017.

The “Seminar on opportunities for international cooperation for Latin America and the Caribbean: Towards greater strengthening of regional cooperation” was organized by the Permanent Secretariat of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA) and the Government of the Republic of Panama, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At this event, participants made a survey of the main initiatives for international cooperation and official development assistance being promoted by bilateral and multilateral donors towards Latin America and the Caribbean. This seminar was attended by authorities from the Member States of SELA, officials responsible for bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the region, as well as national, regional and international organizations, regional and subregional integration and cooperation schemes in Latin America and the Caribbean, and experts in the field.

The XXVIII Meeting of International Cooperation Directors for Latin America and the Caribbean: Cooperation for intellectual property was organized by the Permanent Secretariat of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA) and the Government of the Republic of Panama, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the support of the Pérez-Guerrero Trust Fund (PGTF) of the Group of 77 (G77). This meeting was attended by national authorities responsible for international cooperation from the Member States of SELA, as well as national organizations of intellectual property, regional and international organizations, regional and subregional integration and cooperation schemes in Latin America and the Caribbean, and experts in the field. Within the framework of this meeting, the “Seminar on opportunities for international cooperation for Latin America and the Caribbean: Towards greater strengthening of regional cooperation” was held on 9 November. Final report

The Permanent Secretariat of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA) and the National Directorate of Customs of the Republic of Paraguay organized the “IX Latin American and Caribbean Regional Meeting on Foreign Trade Single Windows”, which took place in Asunción, Republic of Paraguay, on 26 and 27 October 2017. This IX Latin American and Caribbean Regional Meeting on FTSW included four thematic blocks, which covered the management of information in FTSWs and its use in risk management; the progress in the implementation of the WTO trade facilitation agreement, the last recommendation of the UN-CEFACT on public-private partnerships for trade facilitation, and some elements of governance in FTSWs; the importance of transport facilitation in foreign trade and, as usual, participants shared the achievements and challenges of FTSWs in the member countries of SELA attending this meeting.

The Permanent Secretariat of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA), in collaboration with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the National Commission for Micro and Small Enterprises (CONAMYPE) of the Ministry of Economy of the Salvador, will conduct the “Technical Workshop on the Public Policy Index for MSMEs in Latin America and the Caribbean (IPPALC): Central America” in San Salvador, El Salvador, on 24 and 25 October 2017.

The Permanent Secretariat of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in collaboration with the Superintendency of Competition and the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of El Salvador, held the VII Annual Meeting of the Working Group on Trade and Competition of Latin America and the Caribbean (WGTC) on 12 and 13 October 2017 in San Salvador. On this occasion, the meeting focused on two topics: trade and competition in the era of the digital economy, and the treatment of non-tariff barriers and their impact on competition. Final report    

SELA is organizing the “Regional Meeting on the macroeconomic impact of disasters due to the occurrence of natural events in Latin America and the Caribbean”, in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) and the Government of Costa Rica, through the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Policy (MIDEPLAN). During the event, the Permanent Secretariat of SELA will present the study “Macroeconomic impact of natural disasters due to the occurrence of natural events in Latin America and the Caribbean”, whose main objective is to measure the impact of disasters due to the occurrence of natural phenomena on the economic activity and public spending.

In response to challenges that emerge during the evolution of entrepreneurship initiatives, it becomes urgent to empower entrepreneurs, so that they can timely respond to such challenges on the basis of informed and documented decisions. Therefore, the Permanent Secretariat of SELA, together with the Institute for Advanced Studies (IESA by its Spanish acronym), is organizing the “Digital course on entrepreneurship in Latin America and the Caribbean”, which aims to train new entrepreneurs, so that they can develop their entrepreneurship while taking advantage of the benefits offered by Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs); identify the obstacles that may arise during the development of the entrepreneurship project and may threaten the consolidation of the entrepreneurial initiative; and provide entrepreneurs with tools that enable them to develop personal and inter-personal skills and practices, so that they can overcome, in a timely and efficient manner, the obstacles inherent to the development of an entrepreneurial initiative. The course is aimed at entrepreneurs in Latin America and the Caribbean and will be taught in Spanish and English.