Mexico is the sub-regional headquarters of REDLAS, which depends on the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), and it was established in 1951 serving ten countries: Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and the Dominican Republic.

REDLAS serves as a technical assistance and research center to advise the region’s governments on the design, formulation, monitoring and evaluation of public policies, in addition to providing training to public officials in Mexico and Central America.

Hugo Beteta, REDLAS Director in Mexico, opened the meeting in which he explained that modern, or digital, services have been the most dynamic segment of world trade and can contribute to regional development, environmental sustainability and financial and digital inclusion.

Beteta said that in Mexico, services accounted for 43.4% of the total employed population, and in the second quarter of 2023, tertiary activities accounted for 58.2% of GDP, while announcing that ECLAC projects a growth of 12% in the value of regional exports of services.

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