Costa Rica and the United Nations stressed on Monday in San Jose that Latin America and the Caribbean need funding to overcome the economic crisis in which some of its countries are in due to the covid-19 pandemic.
Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado and UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed met to discuss ways to accelerate the region’s recovery after almost two years of the pandemic.
“In order for the countries to move towards recovery, flexible financing on preferential terms is required,” said the Costa Rican government in a statement after the meeting.
Costa Rica proposed to Mohammed a plan to promote economic recovery, social protection, women’s empowerment and productive inclusion with international financing, although no details were provided.
“The pandemic has caused an incalculable global crisis and has aggravated inequality, poverty and exclusion. In the wake of this, more than ever, our region can work with its diversity, as a united zone, for the search for innovative and solidarity-based solutions,” said Alvarado.
“For our part, we will continue to push for a change in the financial architecture in the coming years. If you want peace, you have to invest in development,” said Mohammed, a former Nigerian environment minister.
The deputy secretary general added that it is important to pave the way on financing and that “the region should begin to think about the design of specific instruments to promote development in the region.
“We continue to believe that Costa Rica can position itself as a benchmark to continue promoting the country and the region in the transition towards production and energy development,” said Secretary General Mohammed.
Costa Rica advocates the so-called Covid-19 Economic Relief Fund (CFE), a proposal it submitted to the international community in September 2020.
At that time, Alvarado spoke of an “extraordinary support fund of half a trillion dollars, financed with 0.7% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the world’s largest and strongest economies [those accounting for 80% of world GDP].”
The President thanked the United Nations and its various agencies in Costa Rica for the interagency work they have done in the country. He also reiterated his support for the United Nations and the multilateral system.
