Press Release: El Salvador Convenes Forum on Boosting Investment, Jobs and Growth

May 11, 2015

Press Release No. 15/207
May 11, 2015

The government of El Salvador, in partnership with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the World Bank will host a conference in San Salvador on May 15, 2015 focused on “Building Opportunities for Jobs, Investment, and Growth.” The conference will facilitate a dialogue across stakeholders in El Salvador to discuss policies to overcome key growth bottlenecks, including security, poor infrastructure, and business environment.

“The goal is to discuss how to energize growth and job creation in El Salvador, while strengthening its long-term foundations and further improving social outcomes,” said Alejandro Werner, Director of the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Department. “Our job will be to bring to bear the international experience while hearing from a cross-section of El Salvador’s society on the specific issues they face day in and day out”.

The main topics of discussion will include developing a competitive tradable sector; realizing the country’s potential in energy and infrastructure; and reviewing international experience on strengthening fiscal responsibility and pension systems.

Technical and Planning Secretary of the Presidency of El Salvador, Roberto Lorenzana stated that the conference will be an interactive forum for advancing dialogue among El Salvador’s economic stakeholders on key policy issues. Mr. Lorenzana also noted that the event would be launched by Salvador Sanchez-Cerén, President of the Republic of El Salvador.

Participants will include El Salvador’s top policymakers, parliamentarians across all aisles, private sector representatives, and senior staff from international financial institutions. Delegations from the international financial institutions will be led by Mr. Werner (Department Director of the IMF); Mr. Jorge Familiar, Vice President of the World Bank for Latin America and the Caribbean; and Mr. Santiago Levy, Vice-President of the IDB for Sector and Knowledge.

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