The COVID-19 pandemic has hit Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) hard. Confronted with high human and socioeconomic costs, governments have implemented targeted national responses to mitigate impacts and support the recovery. However, some responses, such as regarding vaccines, financing, and accelerating long-term, sustainable transformation, can only be brought about by greater international cooperation. As the world strives to build forward better, LAC countries and their partners have an opportunity to contribute to shaping a new global agenda for progress and sustainable development.

What role can the LAC region play in today’s changing global context? What do its leaders consider to be the main priorities of the multilateral agenda today? How can they work with international organizations and other regions to shape a new global order?

These topics are at the heart of the 13th International Economic Forum on Latin America and the Caribbean, to be held online on Thursday, May 27, 2021. This event is a joint effort of the Agence Française de Developpement, the Inter-American Development Bank and the OECD Development Centre.

The 2021 edition takes place in the framework of the Semaine de l’Amérique Latine et des Caraïbes, beginning on May 27, 2021.

• Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados
• Iván Duque Márquez, President of Colombia
• Luis Abinader, President of the Dominican Republic
• Ángel Gurría, Secretary-General, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
• Mauricio Claver-Carone, President, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
• Bertrand Walckenaer, Associate Chief Executive Officer, Agence Française de Développement (AFD)
• Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
• Mario Pezzini, Director OECD Development Centre and Special Advisor to the Secretary General on Development
• Benigno López Benítez, Vice President for Sectors and Knowledge, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
• Mario Cimoli, Deputy Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the

Caribbean (ECLAC)

• Rebeca Grynspan, Ibero-American Secretary-General
• Manuel Escudero, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Spain to the OECD, Chair of the Governing Board of the OECD Development Centre

Further information, including a full agenda, is available on the Forum’s website.

Follow the event on social media: #LACForum

To register attendance and/or submit interview requests, journalists are invited to contact the OECD Development Centre’s Press office: Bochra Kriout ( bochra.kriout@oecd.org; Tel : +33 145 24 82 96).