The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the growth of the region, the paralysis of economic activities as a result of the virus containment measures led to the closure of companies, destruction of jobs, impact on global supply chains and the collapse of markets. regional health systems.
It should be noted that countries in the region had been experiencing negative growth rates prior to the arrival of the pandemic, which placed the economies in a much more vulnerable situation. Thus, the region’s average growth was 0.2% in 2019.
With the arrival of the pandemic, the regional scenario for 2020 resulted in a contraction of -7.0%. However, the forecast for 2021 is more favourable, the stimulus measures taken by the governments to stimulate key sectors of the economies have had an effect, in this sense the growth rate for the end of the year is estimated at 6.3% according to IMF figures.
Stimulate economic growth by strengthening regional integration processes, contributing to the design of public policies that facilitate trade and promoting the SME business ecosystem.
To fulfill this goal, the execution of three Programs is proposed: (I) Economic Integration, (II) Trade Facilitation and (III) SMEs. Although these will be addressed independently, they comply with a principle of transversality of themes, where the performance of tasks will greatly contribute to the achievement of objectives set out in this and other Work Areas.
It should be noted that the proposed Programs are considered key to accelerating the economic reactivation of Latin America and the Caribbean and thus contributing to the achievement of the following Sustainable Development Goals:
