Quarterly newsletter of the Director of the Regional Unit for Technical Assistance - RUTA
RUTA is a Project of the Ministries of Agriculture of Central America, the World Bank, IDB, DFID, FAO, IFAD, IICA, IFPRI
| CENTRAL AMERICA IN ACTION | ||
RUTA, IICA and the Latin American Trade Network (LATN) create a new alliance to support FTA-related policy formulation The study entitled “CAFTA-DR Complementary Agendas in Central America: Conceptual basis and proposals” will be released soon. Its general objective is to provide useful information to all countries in the region that are preparing for the implementation of the Free Trade Agreement. This analysis and its dissemination are some of the results of the new alliance between RUTA, IICA and the Latin American Trade Network (LATN). The alliance is part of a series of initiatives undertaken by RUTA to complement the regional study on “The Impact of CAFTA on Agriculture and the Rural Sector in five Central American Countries” (CAFTA Project), which is led by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and whose final results are to be presented to the region by September. The “CAFTA-DR Complementary Agendas in Central America: Conceptual basis and proposals” study is promoted and prepared by LATN, and it will be published and disseminated under collaboration between LATN, RUTA and IICA. Identifying CAFTA-DR readiness of countries in the region has required a thorough assessment of the complementary agenda proposals in each country. Its results are expected to provide useful information to help countries prepare for CAFTA implementation, particularly in the agricultural sector. Thus, this study strengthens ongoing collaboration in the region.
The complementary agenda studies and the preliminary results of the CAFTA Project were presented at the “International Seminar on Agricultural Policies towards CAFTA-DR”, held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on June 25 -26, 2007. This event was organized by IICA, LATN and the Ministry of Agriculture of Dominican Republic. RUTA and LATN are planning further efforts to expand social dialogue and to generate public policy proposals that maximize the opportunities brought up by CAFTA while minimizing its potential risks. Such efforts include the analysis of other areas such as the negotiation of an Association Agreement with the European Union and the linkages between trade, poverty and wealth distribution in the agricultural sector and rural areas of Central American countries. More information on RUTA’s activities related to CAFTA-DR is available at www.ruta.org/cafta. |
Complementary Agendas in Central America