16^th International Economic Forum on Latin America and the Caribbean

Scaling up Financing for Development

Wednesday, 22 May 2024, 14:30 - 18:30 CEST

  OECD Conference Centre, CC12

 (Interpretation will be available in English, Spanish, and French)

14:00 - 14:30 - Welcome coffee

14:30 – 15:00

Keynotes - Harnessing the potential of international finance to support LAC's financing needs

Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) require increased financing for sustainable development. By optimising the combination of public and private resources from both domestic and international sources, the region can respond to their development challenges. To that end, how can LAC countries boost domestic resource mobilisation, and channel more international funds towards better development outcomes? How can international organisations, development finance institutions and governments better work together to make international finance meet LAC’s needs?

• Mathias Cormann, Secretary-General, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
• Anabel González, Vice President for Countries, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
• Thomas Melonio, Executive Director of Innovation, Strategy, and Research, Agence Française de Développement (AFD)
  
  

Moderator: Ragnheiður Elín Árnadóttir, Director, OECD Development Centre

15:00 – 16:15

Session 1: Mobilising sustainable development finance: which actors, policies and instruments? 

Financial resources in LAC must be raised from different sources, both public and private. On the fiscal front, most countries need to enhance the structure of their taxation and expenditure systems to generate additional public revenues. National development finance institutions and private financial institutions should deepen financial inclusion and capital markets to favour access to finance across individuals and SMEs. In that context, how can governments align public and private resources for better impact? What activities within national development banks can contribute to leveraging private resources for development? How are private financial institutions contributing to the development agenda?

Panel discussion: 

• Renata Vargas Amaral, Secretary for International Affairs and Development, Brazil (Virtual) 

• Félix Fernández-Shaw, Director for Latin America and the Caribbean and relations with all Overseas Countries and Territories, Directorate-General for International Partnerships, European Commission
• Amélie de Montchalin, Chair of the Governing Board of the OECD Development Centre, Permanent Representative of France to the OECD
• Daniel Hojman, President of BancoEstado, Chile
• Rafael Barraza, Executive President, Banco Agrícola, El Salvador
• Rodolfo Sabonge, Secretary General, Association of Caribbean States

Moderator: Fazia Pusterla, Representative in Europe of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)

16:15 – 16:30 - Coffee break

16:30 – 17:45 

Session 2: Innovative finance to unlock new opportunities: what lessons for and from LAC?

The region presents unique development opportunities in emerging sectors, mostly associated with the green transition, the digital transformation, and the region's cultural and socioeconomic diversity. However, opportunities in new activities often come with significant risks, making access to finance particularly costly for new entrants. How have young and innovative companies coped with the scarcity of resources facing many ventures in LAC? What innovative financial instruments have been put in place to support these initiatives, and enhance their environmental, cultural and social impacts? What can be learned, and how can success be scaled up?

Panel discussion:  

• César Ferrari, Financial Superintendence, Colombia

• Irene Gómez Luque, CEO, Wayra
• Djalal Khimdjee, Deputy CEO, Proparco
• Cecilia Tam, Head of Energy Investment Unit, International Energy Agency
• Diego Amondaray, Co-founder andCEO, Nippy 

 

Moderator: Natalia Gómez-Solano, Special Adviser on Youth to European Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen, 2023-2024

17:45 – 18:15

Ceremony in honour of Enrique Iglesias 

Special intervention: Enrique Iglesias, President, Fundación Astur 

18:15 – 18:30

Concluding remarks

• Susana Sumelzo, State Secretary for Ibero-America and the Caribbean and for Spanish around the World, Spain

   

 
18:30 – Cocktail

* To be confirmed