Seminar on Competitiveness and Trade Capacity Building co-organized in El Salvador

United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Regional Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean countries (LAC) co-organized a seminar on competitiveness and trade capacity building in San Salvador, El Salvador, on June 17, 2009.

Looking for cooperation with Regional Economic Commissions (RECs) in the region, as requested by the Group of Latin America and Caribbean Countries (GRULAC), the event was organized together with the Central American Integration System (SICA) and the Secretariat of the Economic Integration of Central America (SIECA).

Following the inauguration a presentation on the UNIDO Industrial Development Report 2009 was delivered, and other topics were discussed, such as access to markets, industrial modernization and UNIDO’s recent work in the area of Industrial Competitiveness.

The seminar focused on the impact industrial development may have on middle income countries with slow growth rate, that for various reasons have not flourished under the commercial and production network created by globalization.

The event was inaugurated by Hector Dada, Minister of Finance of El Salvador, Yolanda Mayora de Gavidia, Secretary General of SIECA, Edgar Chamorro Marin, Executive Director of SICA and Víctor Hinojosa Barragán, Chief of the Latin America and the Caribbean Programme on behalf of the Director-General of UNIDO.

Related to the subject matter, UNIDO has created an Industrial Competitiveness Programme, implemented in some Latin American countries due to high demand for increased competitiveness in the region stemming from countries’ interest in developing industrial policy.

The programme objectives include the improvement of contributions to the formulation of industrial competitiveness policies through technical and strategic information, the establishment of a Competitiveness Intelligence Centre and an Observatory that facilitates the design, implementation and monitoring of the impact of policies, through the rigorous use of information and analysis, and increasing dialogue between the private and public sector towards the definition of a common vision.

UNIDO has been the pioneering bridge in this private sector project, making it not only a player in the transfer and training of methodology but a catalyst to transform knowledge into implementation.

The event offered an excellent opportunity to learn about the sub regional policies and private sector initiatives. By familiarizing, assimilating and using the concepts, analysis and methodology put forward by UNIDO, the main objective of the Organization is to make the development of these countries’ productive capacity based on their own resources and requirements possible.

For more information, please contact Victor Hinojosa Barragan