The Context
The ratification of DR-CAFTA by the U. S. Congress
and the national assemblies of El Salvador,
Honduras, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic,
and Nicaragua is a historic milestone signaling
the dawn of a new and hopeful future for the
people living and working in Central America.
The process of negotiating, signing and ratifying
DR-CAFTA required the public sector and the
business community in both Central America and
the United States to come together in an unprecedented
spirit of cooperation to achieve this once unimaginable
goal. Our challenge is now to build upon this
solid foundation and successfully implement
the agreement in a timely manner. U.S. Secretary
of Commerce, Carlos Gutierrez, a visible champion
for DRCAFTA during the ratification debate in
the U.S. Congress, is equally committed to insuring
that the region take full advantage of the opportunities
it will bring for increased trade and investment.
To this end, he is leading a group of executives
from 19 U.S. corporations interested in doing
more business with Central America. Their weeklong
visit to Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador
will begin with their active participation in
this by invitation only event. This regional
conference, hosted by CCAA in collaboration with the Guatemalan Ministry
of Economy, its Programa Nacional de Competitividad
(PRONACOM), U.S. Department of Commerce, and
the U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID), is the fourth in the series of CompromisoCentroAmérica, “CBI” Trade & Investment Forums
following successful meetings in Managua (Oct-02),
San Salvador (Feb-04) and Tegucigalpa (Sept-04).
The Challenge
The theme of the conference, “A
COMMON DESTINY” recognizes that
DR-CAFTA can become a catalyst for sustainable
development only if the agreement positively
impacts all segments of society. It must work
for all. The crucial first step of obtaining
greater market access must be accompanied by
increased foreign investment to create jobs
if the region is to confront the harsh realities
of worsening poverty for many of its citizens
and increased global competition for many of
its businesses. We must come to terms with the
fact that DR-CAFTA is not enough, in and of
itself, to insure increased investment. Four
fundamental barriers (scale, skills, bureaucracy,
corruption) must be overcome by pursuing what
CCAA has termed a Transformation Agenda: Integration
(of markets), Education (of people), Harmonization
(of standards) and Institutionalization (of
the rule of law):
The Response
The business community must take the lead in
reaching out to civil society and become forceful
advocates with the public sector for the policy
changes needed to successfully implement DR-CAFTA
and aggressively pursue the Transformation Agenda.
Each of us must do our part to build a common
vision of a safe and prosperous Central America
and, more importantly, translate it into concrete
action. Simply put, Central America mustPRODUCE
TO PROSPER. Divided we cannot succeed;
united we will not fail.
-
For the business community
to prosper, the public sector must
implement sound policies to produce effective institutions that operate under
a predictable “rule of law”.
-
For civil society to prosper,
the business community must invest sufficient
resources to produce well paying
jobs that compete in the global economy.
-
For the public sector to prosper, civil society must become
true stakeholders to produce stable
communities that provide reasonable hope to
future generations.
The Objectives
The conference will concretely advance the ALLIANCE
FOR CAFTACTION agenda by convening opinionmakers from the business
community, public sector and civil society and
creating a workable consensus across these different,
often competing constituencies. This conference
will produce an integrated series of small, achievable
steps designed to build confidence in our ability
to implement DR-CAFTA and accelerate the process
of modernization currently underway in the region.
The three main objectives are:
-
Obtain the unqualified “compromiso” of Central American opinion-makers to meet
the challenges affecting the region’s
future by signing the “Declaration of
Principles”.
-
Establish a common agenda
of Vital Issues among the business community,
public sector and civil society, building
on previous CompromisoCentroamémerica forums and the Annual Miami Conferences.
-
Enhance the impact of the
region’s scarce resources by integrating
similar initiatives into an Advocacy Platform
to pursue concrete opportunities for action.
The Methodology
The morning Plenary Sessions and Luncheon will
provide the context for the day’s discussions.
The methodology for the concurrent sessions will
be the same. Each will be conducted in a roundtable
format where the moderators will engage the discussants
and participants in an Active Dialogue aimed at
providing 3 to 5 actionable responses to three
fundamental questions:
-
What needs to be done to
successfully implement DR-CAFTA?
-
What needs to be done to
make DR-CAFTA work for all?
-
What needs to be done to
attract greater foreign investment?
Participants will be encouraged
to avoid spending their time describing the difficulty
of the present situation (Where are we now?).
Instead, by building on the results of past conferences
and forums, emphasis will be placed on sharing
their vision of the future and on what must be
done to turn that vision into reality. Participants
should reflect on three broad criteria as they
relate to these discussions:
-
What are the opportunities
for my industry and community?
-
What is the role of my firm
or organization?
-
What initiatives are currently
underway in each country and what synergies
exist across the region?
The moderators will be responsible
for conveying the roundtables’ main discussion
points and their recommendations to the Council
of Ministers (COMIECO) during the closing plenary.
Each roundtable will be asked to identify specific
topics suitable for “Best Business Practice”
studies to harmonize standards across the region.
