The Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, María Reyes Maroto Illera, assured that Spain will continue to promote the signing of free trade agreements between the European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean.

During her speech at the fourth Ibero-American MSME Forum, the minister highlighted that some 100,000 Spanish companies carry out export activities to the Latin American region, with a third of the total investment stock in Latin America and the Caribbean.

For this reason, Maroto defended the importance of free trade agreements between the EU and the Ibero-American region. Among other agreements, she highlighted the modernization of the Free Trade Agreement between Mexico and the European Union.

On the other hand, the head of the Industry, Tourism and Commerce portfolio highlighted the Government’s commitment to SMEs, especially in an economic context of growth but with “great uncertainties” arising from the increase in energy prices and raw materials.

The minister said that thanks to the actions of the Executive, 62 % of Spanish SMEs maintained the same employment levels as before the crisis, for an increase of 12 %.

K. Tovar

Source: El Diario Alerta

La entrada Spain will boost trade in Latin America apareció primero en Bitfinance.

The World Bank appointed William Maloney as the institution’s new chief economist for the Latin American and Caribbean region, according to a statement.

Maloney will be in charge of guiding the strategic priorities and technical quality of economic analysis in the region, as well as preparing the main regional economic studies, among other tasks.

“Latin America and the Caribbean faces unprecedented challenges exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and it is a great honor for me to have the opportunity to lead a team dedicated to finding solutions that help the region embark on a trajectory of further growth. dynamic and inclusive”, said Maloney.

The new chief economist for Latin America is an American who joined the organization in 1998 as a senior for the same region. He held various positions, such as principal economist in the Office of the Chief Economist for Latin America, principal economist in the Development Economics Research Group, chief economist for Trade and Competitiveness, and world expert on the subject of Innovation and Productivity.

He recently served as head of the Vice Presidency for Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions. Between 2011 and 2014 he taught as a visiting professor at the Universidad de los Andes and worked closely with the Colombian government on matters of innovation and modernization of companies.

K. Tovar

Source: Semana

La entrada The World Bank appoints new manager for Latin America apareció primero en Bitfinance.

Spain, through the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation and Segittur, will collaborate with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to promote the smart tourist destinations (DTI in Spanish) model in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).

Spain is considered a pioneer in the development of the DTI model and the IDB is the main source of financing for the development of Latin America and theCaribbean, which prioritizes tourism as one of the main instruments to promote economic growth, social inclusion and the environmental preservation of the region.

The IDB is committed to Segittur for its trajectory and experience, not only in the creation of the DTI model and methodology, but also for the promotion of a Network of Smart Tourist Destinations (RED DTI), which currently has more than 250 members. The project is financed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, through the General Cooperation Fund of Spain.

Estimates from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) suggest that, in 2019, tourism represented 8.1 % of total Latin American GDP and 13.8% of Caribbean GDP. Tourism was also responsible for 7.9 % of total employment in Latin America and 13.5 % in the Caribbean. However, the impact of Covid-19 on the tourism sector is being profound.

In this context, digital and emerging technologies play an important role in reactivating the sector and guaranteeing its future profitability, reinforcing the concepts of health security, adaptation to climate change and socio-environmental sustainability in destinations.

For this reason, this project will apply instruments for technological diagnosis and dissemination of knowledge, will prepare technological pre-investment plans and innovative project designs that will accelerate the adoption of digital and emerging technologies by LAC tourist destinations.

K. Tovar

Source: Hola

La entrada Spain and the IDB will boost tourism in Latin America apareció primero en Bitfinance.

The new waves of contagion in Latin America and the Caribbean threaten to frustrate the chances of recovery in several economies in the region, which in an uneven reactivation would not return to levels prior to the crisis until at least 2023.

This was stated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in a new analysis of Latin America and the Caribbean, where, among others, the director of the Fund’s Western Hemisphere Department, Alejandro Werner, was present.

The report stressed that full economic recovery “is still a long way off“. According to the forecasts made by the IMF, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Latin America will not return to pre-pandemic levels until at least 2023, while the GDP per capita will do so in 2025, later than other regions of the world.

“The crisis has had a disproportionate impact on employment and the losses have been concentrated above all in women, youth and informal and less-skilled workers, and social indicators are showing this,” the IMF detailed.

The analysis notes that regional economies began to reverse the initial economic devastation left by the epidemic. Thus, after a strong contraction in the second quarter of 2020, a strong rebound was observed in the third quarter, which even exceeded expectations in Brazil, Peru and Argentina.

In this context, manufacturing recovered faster than services, while exports returned to pre-crisis levels and consumption and investment lagged further.

K. Tovar

Source: Infobae

La entrada Recovery of Latin America could start in 2023 apareció primero en Bitfinance.