(BNamericas) – In order to strengthen the well-being of the population and the sustainable development of the country, Costa Rica has been incorporated a full member of the CAF – Development Bank of Latin America.
Costa Rica joined CAF as a Series “C” shareholder in 2002. Since then, the institution has promoted various initiatives and projects aimed at accompanying national development plans.
The incorporation of Costa Rica into CAF as a full member will allow the country to have access to a greater amount of long-term financial resources under favorable conditions, as well as non-reimbursable technical cooperation funds.
For its part, with the progressive incorporation of Mesoamerican countries into the institution, CAF will continue to deepen its role of accompaniment to the Latin American integration process, one of the main strengths of the bank that has accompanied, throughout its 50 years of existence, multiple integration projects throughout the region.
The agreement was signed by CAF Executive President, Luis Carranza Ugarte and signed with the President of the Central Bank of Costa Rica, Rodrigo Cubero, with Costa Rica President, Carlos Alvarado, and the Minister of Finance, Elian Villegas, as witnesses of honor in the signing ceremony held at the Casa Presidencial in Zapote.
During the signing ceremony, Carranza highlighted: “We appreciate Costa Rica’s trust in our institution to deepen the relationship and continue to be an instrument to promote sustainable development and regional integration. In situations like the ones we are currently experiencing, CAF is committed to providing financing, technical advice and generation of knowledge at the service of the country”.
For his part, Cubero stressed: “The incorporation of Costa Rica as a full member of CAF gives the country full access to resources in favorable financial conditions to meet fiscal needs and promote economic growth and employment. In addition to financial support, Costa Rica will benefit from technical cooperation in various areas, especially those that continue to allow us to advance towards sustainable development and the well-being of the Costa Rican population”.
The Corporacion Andina de Fomento (CAF) – Banco de Desarrollo de América Latina, is a development bank that has a mission of stimulating sustainable development and regional integration by financing projects in the public and private sectors in Latin America, and providing technical cooperation and other specialized services.
CAF has been an unconditional partner of Costa Rica to face the pandemic. In 2020, the institution disbursed a loan of US$500 million, approved in 2019, to support the country’s fiscal efforts and help meet short-term financing needs.
Subsequently, and as part of the support given to the health emergency generated by COVID-19, CAF has approved two long-term loans totaling US$550 million.
