Past events

SELA will conduct the “Workshop on implementation of the Index of Public Policies for MSMEs in Latin America and the Caribbean (IPPALC)” in Panama City, Panama, with the support of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Authority for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (AMPYME) of the Government of the Republic of Panama. This activity aims to disseminate a standard methodology for the implementation of the Index of Public Policies for MSMEs in Latin America and the Caribbean, establishing a reference framework shared among the countries in the region and focused on the advantages of the tool for the design of public policies.

SELA will hold the “Regional Seminar: The Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership (TPP) and its impact on international trade of Latin American and Caribbean countries” at the headquarters of the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FVG), located in São Paulo, Federative Republic of Brazil. This seminar aims to assess the characteristics and structure of the agreement from the perspective of its member countries and other countries in the region.

SELA held the “Seminar – Workshop on Entrepreneurship “Towards the creation of an entrepreneurial-driven economy: demystifying the journey”, in collaboration with the Ministry of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development of Barbados. This event aimed to promote an exchange of experiences accumulated in various programmes for development of entrepreneurs; analyze the progress made on entrepreneurship at the regional level, evaluating the causes of its development; encourage business organization in sectors that represent economic and social opportunities and promote the creation, among other mechanisms in entrepreneurship, of national systems of business incubators; consider features and prospects for dynamic enterprises; and consider and suggest new mechanisms for financing the entrepreneurial process, such as seed capital funds, networks of angel investors and venture capital funds.

SELA will hold the “Seminar on productive articulation strategies and methodologies, clusters and export consortiums: Caribbean and Central American Experiences.” With this Seminar, the Permanent Secretariat of SELA hopes to contribute to the building and strengthening of business and governmental institutional capacities for the development of productive coordination projects, such as clusters and export consortiums in Latin America and the Caribbean; disseminate information on productive articulation strategies, linkages, local productive developments and industrial districts, among other successful strategies in the region; and identify productive articulation projects in the Caribbean countries that require direct technical assistance or through cooperation that encourages partnerships among SMEs in the region.

SELA will conduct the “Regional Meeting on Update Study on the Index of Public Policies for SMEs in Latin America and the Caribbean” in San José, Costa Rica, in cooperation with the Directorate-General for Support to Small and Medium Enterprises (DIGEPYME) of the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Trade (MEIC) of Costa Rica. This Regional Meeting is intended to disclose the document prepared by the Permanent Secretariat of SELA, which analyzes the experiences of other regions in the adaptation of the Index of Public Policies for SMEs developed by the OECD. In addition, it describes the current status of public policies for SMEs in Latin America and the Caribbean and presents a detailed procedural framework for the implementation and assessment of the Index of Public Policies for SMEs in Latin America and the Caribbean (IPPALC).

SELA will hold the “Regional Meeting on an Assessment of the Economic and Cooperation Relations of Central America, the Caribbean and Mexico,” in collaboration with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). This event aims to analyze the network of cooperation, economic and trade agreements in the region covering Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean; possibilities for their coordination and convergence; and the existing or potential mechanisms and modalities to promote and diversify economic and trade relations.

SELA will analyze the existing trade and investment relations between Latin America and the Caribbean and the countries making up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with the purpose of assessing the opportunities and challenges for the region to promote and diversify economic relations.

SELA is organizing the “Regional Meeting on regulatory frameworks in subregional integration mechanisms in Latin America and the Caribbean: harmonization and convergence” assess the degree of harmonization of the regulatory frameworks in the major markets within the various integration mechanisms. The achievements made and the challenges faced by the regional blocs to move ahead towards greater integration will also be analysed. This event provides an excellent opportunity to define medium and long term strategies, and to monitor and analyse the impact of institutional changes in the region. In this connection, a document on this topic in the context of the Andean Community (CAN), the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Central American Integration System (SICA) and the Pacific Alliance (AP) will be submitted for consideration of participants.  

The Permanent Secretariat of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), along with the Superintendency for Control of Market Power of Ecuador (SCPM), are organizing the V Annual Meeting of the Working Group on Trade and Competition of Latin America and the Caribbean (WGTC), scheduled to be held from 2 to 4 December 2015 in the city of Manta, Ecuador. Final report