PANAMA CITY.
The Inter-American Development Bank Group held the 39th Meeting of Governors of Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic, prior to its Annual Assembly to be held next month in Asunción, Paraguay.
At the meeting, finance ministers, private sector leaders and strategic partners analyzed mechanisms to promote sustainable growth through the regional America at the Center program, with emphasis on regional integration, investment in talent and joint priorities for the next year.
This program promotes sustainable development and resilience in the region, supporting coordinated actions to address cross-border challenges, with a focus on productivity, economic integration and youth development. Within this framework, the IDB will launch two new key initiatives: Cargo Pass, a regional program that seeks to modernize logistics along the Pacific Corridor (which moves nearly 90% of Central America’s cargo) by reducing delays at borders, improving traceability and expanding logistics services between countries. The program could generate annual economic benefits of more than US$700 million, with an investment of US$130 million. And the second Talent Up, developed in alliance with Google, its first strategic partner, starts with an initial commitment of more than 60,000 scholarships to develop digital skills. The initiative will focus on areas such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence and data analytics, helping to close the gap between investment in technology and the capabilities needed to use it productively.
