The Chilean headquarters of this United Nations agency is hosting the 7th Latin American and Caribbean Meeting of Port Logistics Communities, which will run from Tuesday to Friday.

Keiji Inoue, the ECLAC official in charge of the trade division, explained that the projections for the region this year are for a 2.0-percent increase in the value of exports and a 1.0-percent decrease in imports, after a rise of 20 and 24, respectively, in 2022.

These significant drops are the result of lower demand from our main trading partners and the weakness of economic activity in the area, he said.

He considered that in this adverse global and regional context, Latin America and the Caribbean cannot be left behind and must strengthen their resilience in the face of future external shocks.

For this reason, We think at ECLAC that physical and digital infrastructure, multimodal transport and modern logistics are essential to ensure that the flow of goods and services is not interrupted, he added.

The meeting is organized by the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA), together with the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean and ECLAC.

Among its objectives is to analyze the development and evolution of the maritime sector in the region and its connection with other means of transportation, especially those that are more sustainable.

The meeting is part of SELA’s programs for economic integration and trade facilitation, and among the topics to be discussed are the network of digital and collaborative ports, environmental sustainability, energy efficiency and resilience to climate change.

jg/arm/mgt/ca