Past events

SELA and the Inter-American Conference on Social Security (CISS) organized the "Seminar on universal health coverage as a mechanism to facilitate regional integration". Universal health coverage and access are pending issues within the regional agenda and a priority of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The main objective of this seminar was to identify the opportunities and challenges of universal health coverage and access as mechanisms to advance regional integration and strengthen the social dimension of integration through the exchange of best practices and the identification of South-South Cooperation (CSS) opportunities in the health sector.

SELA is organizing the Seminar on Prospects for internationalization of SMEs in Latin America and the Caribbean, in collaboration with ProColombia (an entity responsible for promoting tourism, foreign investment, non-mining/energy exports, and brand country) of the Republic of Colombia. The purpose of this Seminar is to analyze and outline the visible horizon of SMEs in terms of their internationalization and export possibilities, with a view to generating proposals in order to achieve a better positioning of small and medium-sized companies in international markets.

The sessions of the XLV Regular Meeting of the Latin American Council of SELA were held in Caracas, Venezuela, at the headquarters of the Permanent Secretariat of SELA, located in Av. Francisco de Miranda, Torre Europa, fifth floor, Simón Bolívar Conference Room, Campo Alegre. The Preparatory Stage was held on 18 November and the Ministerial Stage on 19 November as of 9:00 a.m.

The Permanent Secretariat of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), together with the National Commission for Protection of Competition (CONACOM) of Paraguay, and with the support of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of Paraguay, held the IX Annual Meeting of the Working Group on Trade and Competition of Latin America and the Caribbean (WGTC) in Asunción, Paraguay, on 3 and 4 October 2019.

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.

This meeting forms part of the Program for the Network of Digital and Collaborative Ports that the Permanent Secretariat of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA) has undertaken jointly with CAF-development bank of Latin America for the execution of technical activities related to the identification, promotion and dissemination of best digital, institutional and innovation practices in the major port communities of the region. In addition, this program includes the conduction of the III Colloquium on Scientific Research on Logistic Port Chains, on Wednesday, 7 August 2019, in the facilities of the University of Trinidad and Tobago. This activity is expected to bring together representatives of leading logistic port communities that are members of the Network, national and local authorities, as well as experts from multilateral institutions and academics participating in the Methodological Support Groups. Also, it will provide continuity of the medium- and long-term strategic definitions and will assess the work with multidisciplinary teams, according to the priorities regarding competitiveness and sustainability.

The Permanent Secretariat of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA) and the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism of Colombia, in partnership with the Medellín Mayor’s Office and the Medellín Chamber of Commerce for Antioquia, will hold an event on the orange economy: creating opportunities for regional development in Medellín, Colombia, from 5 to 7 August 2019.

Considering the expectations arising from these activities for interinstitutional complementarity and cohesion among participants and due to the growing interest in further expanding partnerships, the Permanent Secretariat of SELA is organizing the Seminar “Closing gaps in Latin American integration processes”. The aim of this event is to provide support tools for the design of public policies that prioritize the analysis and use of methodologies associated with the search for convergence and reduction of asymmetries between relatively more and less developed countries.   The Permanent Secretariat has invited various experts and speakers to participate in four working sessions, in which they will present the initiatives for regional convergence that are based on the existence of economic asymmetries, in order to enhance progress in some of the dimensions of integration whose treatment is still incipient. In addition, participants will review several studies on gaps, with special emphasis on social disparities and the efforts by the various regional players in designing public policies to address such disparities.

This Seminar-Workshop is part of the activities scheduled by the Permanent Secretariat for the development of the Productive Articulation Programme for the strengthening and development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the region. In this programme, which the Permanent Secretariat has undertaken with the support of CAF-development bank of Latin America, several activities have been organized with a view to facilitating tools for the determination of inclusive value chains that encourage the productive articulation and export capacity of companies, contribute to greater productivity and promote sustainable growth in the region. This second meeting is aimed at governmental focal points for MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) of the Member States of SELA, and invitations are being extended to the countries that have expressed their interest in continuing to participate in the project and attended the first workshop held in Paraguay in March. The activity aims primarily to: (i) describe the main productive articulation initiatives for SMEs at the national and regional levels that have been undertaken in the region; (ii) assess the level of productivity generated around the construction of networks of strategic alliances; and (iii) submit the various existing methodologies and tools in the region for the identification of productive sectors.