Regional Integration

We promote and support regional integration for the synergies and enhanced competitiveness that cooperation and policy coordination among neighboring countries can achieve. We encourage countries to harmonize policies, share knowledge and create shared infrastructure that attracts productive investment and that equips the region to participate in global value chains.

Bring together leaders of public and private sectors for regional dialogues on economic policy and integration; support countries in their efforts to negotiate regional trade, cooperation, and investment agreements; train government employees in areas that will facilitate cross-border cooperation and trade; produce actionable research and statistics.

INTAL was created in 1965 thanks to decisive support from the countries in the region, which gave it the difficult mission of articulating the integration effort for Latin America and the Caribbean. At that time, discussions in the region were taking place in an international context marked by the Cold War, the difficulty of consolidating democratic regimes, the beginnings of social upheaval, and a trade system that was seeking to pave a way forward by means of new institutions and rules of play. 

INTAL is part of the IDB’s Integration and Trade Sector. Its mission is to support integration processes in Latin America and the Caribbean, through knowledge, digital integration spaces and support for economic, political, and digital integration initiatives.