• Ambassador Roberto Guarnieri, Permanent Secretary of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA).
• Lenin Echeverría, First Vice-Minister of Industry of Cuba, Pro Tempore Presidency of CELAC.
• Gabriel Porcile, Economic Affairs Officer of the Productive and Business Development Division of ECLAC.

• Productive Development and Industrialization in Latin America and the Caribbean: Claudia Schatan, SELA’s consultant.
• Towards a sustainable and inclusive industrial development, Carlos Chanduvi, Head of the UNIDO Secretariat’s Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Structural Change for Equity: Gabriel Porcile, Economic Affairs Officer of the Productive and Business Development Division of ECLAC.

This session aimed to discuss some national experiences as regards industrial policy. Limitations of internal markets, the lack of competitiveness and the specialization profile focused on the exploitation of natural resources in enclave economies (low generation of linkages, dissemination of knowledge and job creation) seem difficult to be changed. Therefore, the objective of diversifying productive matrices to adopt more inclusive, sustainable and dynamic models requires outlining industrial policies.

Moderator: Gabriel Porcile, Official of Economic Affairs of the Division of Productive and Entrepreneurial Development of ECLAC

• Francisco Lazo Marín, Vice-Minister of Trade and Industry of El Salvador.
• Juan Díaz Mazadiego, Director-General of Foreign Trade, Secretariat of Economy of Mexico.

Presentations by subregional integration organizations about the impact of their integration processes on the promotion of the productive and industrial development of their member countries.

Moderator: Juan Acuña, Director of Integration and Cooperation of SELA

• Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Leela Ramoutar, Specialist in Private Sector Facilitation
• Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR), Camilo Rivero, National Coordinator Productive Integration Group (GIP) of MERCOSUR

The strategies aimed at consolidating better coordinated and more complex value chains are a valuable policy tool to tighten the local productive fabric and integrate businesses into global markets. Within this context, the capabilities of enterprises and institutions, the characteristics of the environment and the external relations of the productive sector shape up the key intervention areas for industrial policy.

Moderator: Sofía Rojo, Economic Affairs Officer, Productive and Business Development Division of ECLAC

Vivian Ventura, SELA’s consultant. Presentation:Value chains, SMEs and Public Policies. International Experiences and Lessons for Latin America and the Caribbean.

• Lucía Fuentes de Ferguson, Director-General of Industry of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Panama
• Camilo Morales, Vice-Minister of Large and Medium-Scale Industrial Production of Bolivia.
• Sofía Rojo, Economic Affairs Officer, Productive and Business Development Division of ECLAC

The industrial policy aimed at improving the performance of smaller companies requires a systemic effort to improve endogenous capabilities. It is important to consider that the low productivity of smaller companies is one of the main sources of low quality, informal and unstable jobs with low remuneration, which contributes to poverty.

Moderator: Antonio Leone, Coordinator of the SELA-SMEs Programme

• Marco Dini, Economic Affairs Officer, Productive and Business Development Division of ECLAC.
• Pablo Villar, National Director of Handicrafts, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Uruguay
• Ignacio de León, Institutions for Development Specialist of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
• Paola Restrepo, President of the Colombian Federation of the Software Industry (FEDESOFT)

The Permanent Secretariat of SELA and the Secretariat of ECLAC, in collaboration with the Moderators and Rapporteurs of each session, presented the draft conclusions and recommendations which could serve as terms of reference for specialized events to dwell deeper into the study of topics and sectors of regional interest, whose recommendations could lead to the eventual organization of a Latin American and Caribbean Conference on Productive and Industrial Development.

Moderator: Lenin Echeverría, First Vice-Minister of Industry of Cuba, Pro Tempore Presidency of CELAC.

• Ambassador Roberto Guarnieri, Permanent Secretary of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA)
• Lenin Echeverría, First Vice-Minister of Industry of Cuba, Pro Tempore Presidency of CELAC
• Gabriel Porcile, Economic Affairs Officer of the Productive and Business Development Division of ECLAC