Press Release No. 16/506

IMF and Guatemala to Host Central America Conference on Regional Outlook and Inclusive Growth

November 14, 2016

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Central Bank of Guatemala will host the XIV Regional Conference for Central America, Panama, and the Dominican Republic on November 17-18, 2016 in Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala. The conference will focus on the economic prospects and policy options for countries in the region in a context of moderate global growth. Participants will also discuss the role of economic integration, infrastructure investment, and financial inclusion play in supporting growth and social progress.

The event will bring together central bank governors, finance ministers, and superintendents of the financial sector in the region, as well as officials from the IMF and other multilateral agencies. The President of Guatemala, Mr. Jimmy Morales, will open the conference. The IMF delegation will be headed by Mitsuhiro Furusawa, IMF’s Deputy Managing Director, and Alejandro Werner, Director of the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Department, who oversees IMF activities and operations in the Americas.

Commenting on the conference Mr. Werner said: "the conference will provide a great opportunity to discuss policies that would strengthen macroeconomic and financial stability, as well as structural reforms that would help boost potential growth, and reduce poverty and inequality in the region.”

http://www.imf.org/external/np/seminars/eng/2016/capdr/index.htm