BACKGROUND
The current situation and prospects for Latin American and Caribbean integration, amid the new political and economic circumstances at the regional and global levels, requires making progress with the various proposals and ongoing projects intended to create and consolidate a Regional Financial Architecture.
In this connection, the Latin American Council, in its XXXVII Regular Meeting from 19 to 21 October 2011 included in the Work Programme of the Permanent Secretariat for the year 2012, an activity entitled “Analysis and preparation of policy proposals for the consolidation of a regional financial architecture.” This mandate is consistent with the statements made by the Heads of State and Government of Latin America and Caribbean during the Summits of Latin America and the Caribbean on Integration and Development (CALC) conducted in 2008, 2010 and 2011, and with the 2012 Caracas Action Plan.
Similarly, at the Regional Meeting on Reform of the International Financial Architecture and Monetary and Financial Cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean, held in the headquarters of the Permanent Secretariat of SELA on 8 and 9 April 2010, strategies and actions were outlined so they could be carried out for the creation of a regional financial architecture, which should cover three areas:
- A Regional Development Bank, which should be characterized by its autonomy, sustainability, attention to disparities and non-conditionality;
- A Regional Contingency Fund, which would focus on sovereign liquidity problems; and
- A Regional Monetary Area, which should include a Regional Clearing House, a Common Accounting Unit, a Regional Monetary Council and eventually a common currency.
On that occasion, the delegates from the Member States of SELA reiterated the existing regional consensus on the need to build a new international financial architecture which includes mechanisms for regulation, control, supervision and transparency and, at the same time, boosts current strategies to move ahead towards the progressive construction of a regional financial architecture. In this connection, it was deemed advisable for the Permanent Secretariat of SELA to continue with the study, dissemination and conduction of debates among its Member States and the existing multilateral, regional and subregional organizations dealing with these matters. The Permanent Secretariat should also hold, whenever its Member States consider them of their interest, seminars and regional meetings to assess the progress of the debates and negotiations for consolidating the regional financial architecture.
Consequently, SELA should continue to encourage the dialogue among the governments of its Member States and the organizations and monetary and financial cooperation projects existing in the region, as well as the interaction and synergy among regional and subregional integration and cooperation organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean in order to speed up development through the coordination of common and complementary projects of a regional financial architecture.
Pursuant to this mandate, the Permanent Secretary is convening this Regional Meeting with the purpose of analyzing and preparing policy proposals to support the consolidation of the regional financial architecture, with the participation of representatives of the Member States of SELA and the various regional mechanisms and organizations promoting financial cooperation for the integration and development of Latin America and the Caribbean.
