ECLAC will Hold XXIX Regional Fiscal Policy Seminar

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) will hold its traditional Regional Fiscal Policy Seminar at its central headquarters in Santiago, Chile on March 23-24, drawing ministers and undersecretaries of finance from countries in the region.

The meeting, carried out uninterruptedly for 29 years, has become a point of reference for fiscal debate among authorities, policymakers, economists and academics throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. It has the support of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), along with sponsorship from the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development (AECID) and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The seminar will be inaugurated on Thursday, March 23 at 09:00 in Chile (-3 UTC/GMT) by Alicia Bárcena, ECLAC’s Executive Secretary; Beate Stirø, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway in Chile; Rolf Schulze, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Chile; and Alejandro Micco, Chile’s Undersecretary of Finance. Ministers and Undersecretaries of Treasury and Finance for Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Honduras and Uruguay are also expected to attend, among other authorities.

Event participants will debate the fiscal policy challenges posed by the current regional context, tax policy in Latin America, the allocation of public resources and financing for education, territorial disparities, the provision of public goods and financing.

Furthermore, ECLAC’s Executive Secretary will present the document Fiscal Panorama of Latin America and the Caribbean 2017: Mobilizing resources for the financing of sustainable development during the meeting. The 2017 version of Revenue Statistics in Latin America and the Caribbean, a joint report by the OECD, ECLAC, IDB and the Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations (CIAT), will also be launched.

The media are invited to attend this seminar. Journalists should have their media credentials or identity documents with them to gain access.

The event will be broadcast live via the Internet. More information, including a complete schedule of the seminar, will be soon available here.

What: XXIX Regional Fiscal Policy Seminar

Who:

• Ministers and Undersecretaries of Treasury and Finance and other authorities from countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as international experts.

Opening remarks (Thursday, March 23, 09:00 in Chile, -3 UTC/GMT):

• Alicia Bárcena, ECLAC’s Executive Secretary.
• Beate Stirø, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway in Chile.
• Rolf Schulze, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Chile.
• Alejandro Micco, Chilean Undersecretary of Finance.

When: Thursday, March 23 and Friday, March 24, 2017.

Where: ECLAC’s Headquarters, Av. Dag Hammarskjöld 3477, Vitacura, Santiago, Chile (Raúl Prebisch Room).