SELA invites countries in the region to join the Network of Digital and Collaborative Ports

The Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA), together with CAF-development bank of Latin America and the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP), opened this Wednesday the VI Latin American and Caribbean Meeting of Port Logistics Communities in Panama City, with the objective of consolidating logistic port communities in the region.

During the opening session of the event, the Permanent Secretary of SELA, Ambassador Clarems Endara, extended an invitation to those countries that are not yet members of the Network to join this initiative for regional integration, promotion of best practices and cooperation for the facilitation and optimization of regional trade.

He explained that “after two years marked by uncertainty, expectations and changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, there are still tensions on supply chains, production and consumption networks, inflationary pressures and high freight costs; in addition, the economic, social, digital, competitiveness and infrastructure gaps in our countries have widened.”

The VI Latin American and Caribbean Meeting of Logistic Port Communities evaluates the development of port activities in Latin America and the Caribbean in the context of the pandemic and presents the progress and initiatives implemented in the area of port sustainability, as well as the prospects for the sector in the coming years.

The Permanent Secretary of SELA said that this sixth edition of the Regional Meeting of Logistic Port Communities is an opportunity to meet again with the stakeholders of the maritime-port sector, which ratifies the commitment of this organization to the promotion of programmes and policies that foster the digital transformation of ports, promote sustainability and port security, improve city-port relations in the region and the intermodality of the sector.

“SELA, as an international organization aimed at promoting a system of consultation and coordination of common positions and strategies of Latin America and the Caribbean, includes among its objectives the promotion of intra-regional cooperation, in order to achieve comprehensive and sustainable development and foster the formulation and implementation of economic and social programmes and projects of interest to Member States,” he said

“The region needs innovative strategies and policies to facilitate and boost trade, strengthen the supply chain and promote the consolidation of innovative port communities,” Endara added.

Data from the International Monetary Fund and ECLAC agree that growth in Latin America and the Caribbean will be around 2% in 2022, after having reached an average of 6% in 2021. In this regard, the Permanent Secretary of SELA said that economic recovery will be marked by coordination in the design and implementation of monetary and fiscal policies, as well as greater regional cooperation and integration and the strengthening of public-private partnerships.

The VI Meeting of Port Logistics Communities, which will be held until 18 March, is part of SELA's Work Programme for 2022-2026, specifically the programmes related to economic integration and trade facilitation.

The objective is to promote regional integration as well as to open a space for a permanent and proactive debate on logistic port communities in the regulatory, technical, technological, commercial and governance areas. It is also proposed to build a common agenda between integration blocs for the development of economic policies that contribute to the growth of the region.