Santiago, 28 April 2023 ¨C Finance experts, economists, and civil society representatives all called for more government and private sector support for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in order to avoid a lost decade of development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The experts gathered Thursday in Santiago, Chile, at the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ DESA Global Policy Dialogue on ¡°Financing an Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Transition,¡± focused on the region.
The event highlighted key messages of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ DESA¡¯s and addressed the specific regional challenges and opportunities in reducing debt and scaling up investment and development cooperation.
¡°Industrialization and structural transformation have been historic engines of economic growth and productivity growth, but at the same time we know that¡they have a mixed record and cases of successes and failures,¡± said Shari Spiegel, Chief of the Policy Analysis and Development Branch in the Financing for Sustainable Development Office at Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ DESA. ¡°So, the idea is to think about what a new generation of industrial policies would look like that are sustainable, that are supportive of decent jobs, and to learn from the past.¡±
Stephany Griffith-Jones, a member of the Board of Governors of the Central Bank of Chile, said in Spanish that policymakers in the region urgently must support ¡°a more inclusive development model, that is to say, more egalitarian with participation from more lower-income groups,¡± and considerations for the environment. ¡°All of this productive transformation requires a massive, massive investment, and we¡¯re facing low levels of investment in Latin America,¡± Griffith-Jones added.
Other speakers included Esteban Perez Caldentey, Senior Economic Affairs Officer in the Economic Development Division at the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Economic and Social Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ ECLAC); Ruth Spencer, Chair of the Marine Ecosystems Protected Areas Trust in Antigua and Barbuda; Sebasti¨¢n Arias Monsalve, Acceleration Director at Start-Up Chile; and Marcela Browne, Head of Education at Fundaci¨®n SES in Argentina.
The event took place on the sidelines of the , held at Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ ECLAC headquarters. The dialogue was made possible by the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Peace and Development Trust Fund.
Watch the event in original language (English and Spanish).