Thursday 8 May, 12.30-13.45
Temple Chambers, 3-7 Temple Avenue, London EC4Y 0HP
The Central American Business Council is organising a roundtable meeting with the President of El Salvador’s Technical Secretary and Chief of Staff, Dr Alexander Segovia. The meeting will be chaired by the President of the Central American Business Council, Baroness Hooper.
Dr Segovia will speak about the new FMLN government’s priorities over the next five year term, policies for inward investment and provide details on opportunities for UK business including some of the larger infrastructure and energy projects as well as the opportunities for public-private partnerships (PPPs) and increased trade. There will then be an opportunity for questions and answers and a wider discussion on doing business in El Salvador.
Dr Segovia is also the head of El Salvador’s economic and social cabinet as well as the President of El Salvador’s recently reformed investment agency PROESA which will now manage public-private partnerships as part of its remit. Reforms to El Salvador’s PPP law that will provide investors with additional security are soon expected to take place. This is part of negotiations between the US and El Salvador on the Millennium Challenge Fund (FOMILENIO II), the US development aid programme which will see a grant of US$277m from the US over five years with El Salvador also contributing US$88m to generate development in El Salvador’s coastal area, in particular in an international airport and wind farm. The development package includes technical assistance to ensure the successful delivery of PPP projects.
In addition, Dr Segovia is part of the group leading the transitional government between outgoing President Mauricio Funes and the ruling party’s new candidate Salvador Sanchez Ceren. A biography can be found below.
The cost for the event for non-members is £65 +VAT. A light buffet lunch of sandwiches and refreshments will be provided. Places are limited so please confirm your attendance by emailing catherine.hickey@stagingcaribbean.wpengage.uk
Dr Alexander Segovia: Biography
Dr. Alexander Segovia is an economist by profession and holds a Ph.D. in Economics from London University and a Master’s degree in Economics from Oxford University. He was Director of the Economic and Social Research Center for Technological and Scientific Research at the Universidad Centroamericana Jose Simeón Cañas in El Salvador. His work in the economic and social research field is wide, serving as an international consultant for the German Agency for International Cooperation, the Economic Commission for Latin America, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the U.S. Agency for International Development, among others.
In addition to his present appointment as Technical Secretary of the Presidency, Dr. Segovia holds the position of Governor before the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank; Alternate Governor of the International Monetary Fund; Chairman of the board of Fomilenio; Coordinator of the National Commission for Public investment; Coordinator of the Committee for the Productive Development Strategy; Coordinator of the Universal System for Social Protection; Executive Director of CONADEI and Coordinator of the Committee for Rehabilitation and Reconstruction.
Dr. Segovia has also been a policy advisor of the National Commission for Reparation and Reconciliation in Colombia, a member of the advisory group of the Instituto Centroamericano de Estudios Fiscales, director of the regional project “Transformations of the Central American Economies and Societies in the early XXI Century” and advisory board member of the project “Towards a National Strategy for Urban Poverty Focus” of the United Nations Development Program.
