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RIAC Meeting Coordinated by the OAS Presents Report on "Competitiveness in the Americas"

The Annual Meeting of the Inter-American Competitiveness Network (RIAC), which was held today in Cali, received the report "Signs of Competitiveness in the Americas," coordinated by Colombia with the support of the Organization of American States (OAS).

The Report aims to bring together the experiences and progress of the countries of the region in the implementation of the ten principles of the Consensus of Santo Domingo, which was approved at the 2011 meeting of RIAC. The Report serves as a tool to give visibility to successful experiences, encourage synergies and support the progress of the countries of the region in terms of competitiveness. In addition, the report provides content and strategic information to enrich the dialogue on public policies and to encourage joint actions between public and private institutions of the Member Countries of the RIAC.

At the meeting in Cali, the government of Panama assumed the presidency of the RIAC for 2013, and will host the Network’s next Annual Meeting. It was also decided today that the 2014 and 2015 meetings will be held in Guatemala and Mexico, in conjunction with the Americas Competitiveness Forum. The RIAC was launched in 2009 in Santiago de Chile, in the framework of the Third Forum, and the OAS has served since then as its Technical Secretariat.

Network members welcomed the work plan proposed by Panama for its efforts on behalf of the RIAC until the Forum in Panama City next year. The plan is based on three lines of action: support for the implementation of the offers and demands of the countries that took part in the First "Signals of Competitiveness in the Americas" Report; development of the second report, which should include more experiences, particularly in the area of infrastructure and innovation, which will provide the focus for next year and support for the consolidation of the Group of Experts on Subnational Competitiveness.

The RIAC meeting in Cali was opened by the Executive Secretary for Integral Development of the Organization of American States (OAS), Jorge Saggiante, and Catalina Crane Arango, High Presidential Counselor for Public and Private Management from Colombia.

Executive Secretary Saggiante noted that the RIAC has already reached 31 members since its inception in 2009, which shows "a growing interest in expanding ties of cooperation between the institutions of different countries." He emphasized that, with the presentation of the report, the RIAC "starts a process that has been a constant aspiration of the network, which is to focus on very specific examples of good practices to promote knowledge sharing and partnership among the Members."

"The results of the Network," said Saggiante, "will be consolidated to create a forum for dialogue among all people directly associated with or responsible for the competitiveness of our countries to allow us, formally, but frankly and openly comment on many issues that concern us."

Catalina Crane Arango, who spoke on behalf of her country as President Pro Tempore of the RIAC, said that "it is our decision to give direction to the work on the Network and I want to invite and encourage you to promote and strengthen it, in an effort that concerns both the countries and the organizations that constitute the Network".

Crane Arango highlighted the two main objectives that her country prioritized in its leadership of the Network: First, implementation of the Consensus of Santo Domingo, which established "ten principles to move towards a more competitive and prosperous region," and second, the declaration of the year 2012 as "the year of innovation for the Americas, starting with the development of targeted efforts to promote innovation as a key element in increasing productivity in business and enhancement of competitiveness in those countries."

The Members of RIAC are the Competitiveness Authorities and Councils of the countries of the Americas, which are supported in their work by institutions such as the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Compete Caribbean Program, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils (FGCC), International Training Centre for Local Actors (CIFAL), TEC de Monterrey and the World Bank, among others.

The RIAC annual meeting was held in Cali within the framework of the Sixth Americas Competitiveness Forum, which takes place from October 24 to 26 in the Colombian city.

A gallery of photos of the event is available here.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-386/12