ECLAC Identifies 15 Opportunities to Boost Ibero-America

A report by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) highlights 15 areas to target to promote growth, create jobs and improve well-being in Ibero-America. The report suggests that public policies, investment, public-private partnerships and international cooperation could drive these opportunities.

According to ECLAC, the Ibero-American region, home to 8.7% of the global population and 15.3% of the world’s surface, represented 8.6% of the global GDP in 2021. However, the countries in the region, except Paraguay, are expected to experience slower growth in 2023 than in 2022, according to ECLAC’s forecast. “In this context of tensions and challenges, ECLAC wants to contribute to the dialogue with not only an assessment of gaps and trends, but also the definition of areas of opportunity with great potential for promoting growth, creating employment and improving well-being,” says José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, Executive Secretary, ECLAC.

To avoid this economic slowdown, the report recommends implementing better and more realistic efforts in critical areas such as the reconfiguration of global supply chains, the energy transition and renewable energy, the circular economy, the pharmaceutical and medical device industry, the digital transformation, the exportation of modern services, advanced manufacturing, sustainable water management and sustainable tourism.

ECLAC emphasizes that countries in the region should redirect their development patterns toward knowledge-intensive sectors with higher rates of growth and employment that favor export diversification. Additionally, state and public policies should play a more proactive and dynamic role in articulating proposals and implementing policies in both their sectoral and general dimensions. The report also emphasizes the importance of strategic alliances and collaboration within the Ibero-American space at all levels.

ECLAC notes that these sectors and areas of opportunity can also be transformed into vectors for strengthening regional integration and multilateralism. By coordinating at the regional level, the region can achieve the necessary production to articulate national policies and objectives.

“Ibero-America has an important opportunity to actively participate in designing the new international governance and to defend its interests and aspirations in a context of renewed international cooperation. Countries must harness these opportunities to the greatest extent possible to restore investment and growth,” says Salazar-Xirinachs.