Marlon Brevé
Ambassador of Honduras in Spain
Relations between Honduras and Spain are at an excellent level, which has been reflected in the visit of King Felipe VI to the inauguration of President Iris Xiomara Castro Sarmiento in January 2022; the subsequent visit of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in August 2022; the working visit of President Castro to Madrid in February 2023; and the participation of President Castro in the EU- CELAC Summit in Brussels in July 2023, under the Spanish presidency of the European Union. As a result of these visits, bilateral cooperation between Honduras and Spain has been strengthened.
Xiomara Castro is the first woman president in the history of Honduras and, since her inauguration, the country’s foreign policy takes a line that bets on multilateralism, approaching several countries in the world and strengthening existing ties with old friends, including Spain for the historical ties, values and democratic principles that unite us, but also as a gateway to the European Union.
Spain and Honduras maintain close ties, which due to the political situation are stronger than ever. We are united by our commitment to democracy and regional stability and by a global vision based on the promotion of peace and the defense of human rights.
On the other hand, Honduras, recognizing its realities as a country with deep structural problems that it must face, has also sought new alternatives to solve these problems, which it shares with other developing countries in the world. This is why it is approaching China, the BRICS members and the global south.
As of March 2023, Honduras and China established diplomatic relations formalizing the links between the two nations, agreeing to develop friendly relations on the basis of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, non-aggression, non-interference in internal affairs, equality, mutual benefit and peaceful coexistence, in addition to the implementation of a series of projects aimed at developing the country’s infrastructure.
Similarly, in June 2023, Honduras formally requests to join the BRICS bank as an important step to have more possibilities to find mechanisms to boost economic progress and raise the quality of life of the population. In July of the same year, Honduras becomes a full member of CAF, the Development Bank of Latin America.
With this incorporation, the country is committed to strengthening its regional presence and accessing sources of unconditional financing, technical assistance and knowledge generation that have the potential to improve the well-being of the population and competitiveness. In other words, our country now has the opportunity to access financing at low interest rates to improve public infrastructure, investment in important sectors such as education, health, social protection, energy and the financial sector, representing an opportunity for economic and social development.
In January 2024, Honduras will assume the pro tempore presidency of the Central American Integration System (SICA), which is the institutional framework of the Central American Regional Integration, and whose main objective is to achieve the integration of Central America, to constitute it as a region of peace, freedom, democracy and development.
The System was designed taking into account previous experiences for the integration of the region, as well as lessons learned from regional historical events such as political crises, armed conflicts and the achievements of entities prior to SICA. Based on this, the fundamental objective of Honduras’ program during the six months in which it will hold the pro tempore presidency is to advance towards greater political, economic and social integration firmly based on the respect, protection and promotion of human rights, regional security and, above all, the frontal and joint fight against poverty and inequality.
The year 2024 promises to be a showcase in which Honduras will show itself to the world, taking a leading role in regional integration organizations when President Xiomara Castro was elected to hold the pro tempore presidency of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). This decision took place within the framework of the summit between the European Union and CELAC, which was held in Brussels, demonstrating the respect and recognition given to President Castro, her presidency and her contacts with Latin American and Caribbean leaders.
During the Pro Tempore Presidency of Honduras in CELAC, our planned program will promote the strengthening of the organization from its founding principles, the unity of Latin America and the Caribbean as a mechanism that transcends discourse to action and that above all consolidates the region as a strong and dynamic bloc with respect to the rest of the world. We are living in a historic moment, in which the vast majority of countries in Latin America are in political harmony, where progressive thinking unites us and offers the opportunity to come closer together as a region.
In this regard, during the EU-LAC Business Roundtable, as part of the EU-CELAC Summit, the European Commission presented the Global Gateway Investment Agenda which revolves around the following pillars: a just ecological transition, an inclusive digital transformation, human development, health resilience and vaccines. The Global Gateway Investment Agenda will be implemented through initiatives of Team Europe: the EU, its member states, development finance institutions such as the European Investment Bank, export credit agencies and many other public funding sources that will work hand in hand with the private sector through public-private partnerships. All of this is part of Spain’s initiative during its presidency of the Council of the European Union to strengthen ties between the two regions and foster greater integration between CELAC member countries so that the structural problems afflicting the region can be addressed as a single bloc.
Latin America and the Caribbean has a unique geographic and environmental diversity, which gives it the greatest abundance of renewable resources in the world. For this reason, one of the main goals of the Investment Agenda is to accelerate a green and just transition in the region.
Latin America is also the global region with the largest digital divide. Addressing this challenge, it proposes concrete steps to achieve digital transformation and innovation and ensure a shared commitment to a vision of society and the digital economy where people are at the center.
The green and just digital transition proposed by the Agenda will also be achieved through investments in education, vocational training and skills development. The Investment Agenda will contribute to strengthening good governance, social dialogue and corporate social responsibility by promoting investments with a strong focus on social issues.
Among the region’s great potentials is biotechnology. In order to achieve regional autonomy and strengthen health resilience systems, the Agenda supports and reinforces EU-CELAC bi-regional work on the production of vaccines, medicines and other health technologies.
Honduras, as pro tempore president of CELAC next year, has the challenge of ensuring the implementation of this agenda, which represents a political commitment to work together, identifying opportunities for green and fair digital investment in Latin America and the Caribbean, taking advantage of the open environment provided by trade and investment agreements and helping to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
Honduras is firmly committed to multilateralism and recognizes that cooperation, dialogue and the creation of common spaces for work and understanding among international actors is the only possible way to face the challenges of the present and the future.
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