Governments explore the process towards implementation
Geneva, 24 August 2011 - The Secretary of Finance of Argentina, Hernan Lorenzino, and UNCTAD Deputy Secretary-General, Petko Draganov, opened the first high-level regional consultative meeting for South American countries in Buenos Aires on 19 August. The purpose of the event was to assess the UNCTAD Principles on Promoting Responsible Sovereign Lending and Borrowing, and their potential for future implementation.
Mr. Lorenzino highlighted "the lack of fundamental rules on debt finance and the need of such principles" and Mr. Draganov pointed out that "South American experiences in debt management have been of great importance for the formulation and refinement of UNCTAD´s Principles".
During the meeting, which is part of the continuous review process of the UNCTAD Initiative, a number of recommendations aimed at refining the Principles were made by country representatives. Participating countries unanimously agreed that the Principles are important and very timely in the current global economic context. Further, promoting greater prudence and responsibility on debt contracting is necessary to prevent and reduce the impact of debt crises. The upcoming UNCTAD Trade and Development Report 2011, which will be published on 6 September, points to key issues in the management of the international debt crisis, given the unprecedented level of economic integration and interdependence that the global economy has reached.
Senior policymakers from Argentina, the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and Uruguay engaged in constructive discussions about the Principles. Speakers included Mrs. Yuefen Li, Head of the UNCTAD Debt and Development Finance Branch, and Mr. Lee Buchheit, Partner at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Law Firm in New York, an expert in sovereign debt issues. Mr. Luiz Bresser Pereira, former Minister of Finance of Brazil, moderated the discussions. Representatives of the United Nations Development Programme; the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean; the Group of Latin American and the Caribbean Debt Management Specialists, also known as the LAC Debt Group; and representatives of the Argentine provinces also participated in the meeting. Details of the meeting can be found at http://www.unctad.info/en/Debt-Portal/.
Principles were discussed by the countries, with Argentina and Brazil firmly supporting the UNCTAD initiative to commit to implementing the Principles. All participating countries expressed an interest in taking measures to further discuss their implementation.
Regional consultative meetings in Asia and Africa have been scheduled in the coming months. The next one will take place in, Mombasa, Kenya, on 27 and 28 October.
The Regional Consultative Meeting was preceded by a one-day seminar on asset liability management in national and subnational debt offices. This event was co-sponsored by the Ministry of Economy and Public Finances of Argentina, UNCTAD and the LAC Debt Group.
During the seminar, which was opened by Mr. Adrian Cosentino, Undersecretary of Finance of Argentina, participants from Argentina, the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Panama and Buenos Aires and Rio Negro provinces discussed the main challenges and opportunities related to adopting an asset liability management framework in the context of today´s fragile global economic recovery.
