Meeting of the Latin American Public Policy Network

This week the third ordinary meeting of the Latin American Public Policy Network for Regional Development was held. Since its launch, this network has been supported by EUROsociAL, the EU-funded cooperation programme. The network, recognised in the Final Declaration of the EU-CELAC Summit, is becoming consolidated as a mechanism for dialogue on regional development.

In the framework of this meeting, Mexico, through the Secretariat of Agricultural, Territorial and Urban Development (SEDATU), assumed the presidency of the network for 2015-2017. SEDATU head Jesús Murillo Karam indicated that “we, the 14 countries that make up this dialogue mechanism, contribute in this way to improving the urban and regional planning of our territories. The exchange of good practices will translate into more orderly regional development with greater territorial cohesion”. The head of Mexico’s Secretariat of Foreign Relations, José Antonio Meade, one of the co-sponsors of this meeting, remarked that the network fulfils a “crucial” function for the development and integration of Latin America, because it makes it possible to share experiences and knowledge.

The opening remarks preceding the working sessions of the network were delivered by FIIAPP Director Pedro Flores Urbano, representing EUROsociAL, and he stressed that “the work of the network enables cooperation between countries, makes it possible to leverage the capacities and also the resources of each, better utilising and complementing them”. Among the activities programmed, the diagnosis of Mexico’s regional development, supervised by the OECD Development Centre and coordinated by EUROsociAL, was presented.

The members of the network unanimously approved the network’s governance model and work plan for the next two years. Participants in the meeting included Brazil’s Ministry of National Integration; Bolivia’s Minister of Autonomies; Guatemala’s Secretariat of Planning and Programming of the Office of the President; El Salvador’s Minister of Governance and Territorial Development; in addition to other Latin American authorities.