JULY 2014 JULY Latin America’s golden era: The road ahead Ecuador rejoins OFID Ministerial Council meets in Doha Palestine: Where dignity and resilience prevail African NGOs receive OFID Annual Award for Development OFID Quarterly is published COMMENT four times a year by the OPEC Fund for International Development Latin America and the Caribbean: (OFID). The challenge of inclusive growth 2 OFID is the development finance agency established in January 1976 by the Member States of OPEC (the Organization of the Petroleum SPECIAL FEATURE Exporting Countries) to promote South-South cooperation by extend- Latin America’s golden era: The road ahead 4 ing development assistance to other, non-OPEC developing countries. Investment, integration, infrastructure: OFID Quarterly is available The three ‘I’s to unleash Latin America’s potential 10 free-of-charge. If you wish to be Feeding the world from the southern hemisphere 13 included on the distribution list, please send your full mailing details OFID in Latin America and the Caribbean 15 to the address below. Back issues of the magazine can be found on our OFID in the Field 18 website in PDF format. Panama: Water challenges between two oceans 20 OFID Quarterly welcomes articles and photos on development-related Honduras: Vulnerable but courageous 22 topics, but cannot guarantee Fighting against a silent killer 24 publication. Manuscripts, together with a brief biographical note on the author, may be submitted NEWSROUND to the Editor for consideration. The contents of this publication Ministerial Council holds 35th Session 26 do not necessarily reflect the official views of OFID or its Member Ecuador returns to the fold in pursuit Countries. Any maps are for of South-South solidarity 34 illustration purposes only and are not to be taken as accurate Annual Award acknowledges education as key 38 representations of borders. Editorial material may be freely reproduced, OFID announces 2014 Scholars 40 providing the OFID Quarterly is credited as the source. A copy to the Annual Report 2013 highlights Editor would be appreciated. record commitments 42 Palestine: Where dignity and resilience prevail 44 Cuba: Fulfilling a promise 48 Energy access a global good 50 HIV/AIDS and the challenge of conservative social settings 52 OFID Diary 55 Meetings attended by OFID 57 147th Session of the Governing Board 58 Loan and grant signature photo gallery 60 JULY 2014 SPOTLIGHT Ecuador: From oil to flowers, from nature to arts 62 CONFERENCE WATCH GPEDC: The quest continues for results-oriented development 65 SE4ALL Forum moves forward 10 energy poverty agenda 68 OFID at the World Petroleum Congress 70 MEMBER STATES FOCUS Algeria, Ecuador, Iran, Nigeria fly the flag in Brazil 72 20 OPEC 165th Meeting of the OPEC Conference convenes in Vienna 74 PUBLISHERS THE OPEC FUND FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (OFID) Parkring 8, P.O. Box 995, A-1010 Vienna, Austria Tel: (+43-1) 515 64-0; Fax: (+43-1) 513 92-38 Email: [email protected] 44 www.ofid.org EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Mauro Hoyer Romero EDITOR Audrey Haylins CONTRIBUTORS Reem Aljarbou, Namat Alsoof, Nadia Benamara, Damelys Delgado, Lorena Gil, Faris Hasan, Shirin Hashemzadeh, Souhad Khriesat, Romulo Martinez, Arya Gunawan Usis, Justine Würtz PHOTOGRAPHS Abdullah Alipour Jeddi (unless otherwise credited) PRODUCTION Susanne Dillinger DESIGN etage.cc/krystian.bieniek PRINTED IN AUSTRIA Stiepan & Partner Druck GmbH This publication is printed on paper produced from responsibly managed forests. 62 COVER: PHOTOS/WWW.SHUTTERSTOCK.COM COMMENT Latin America and the Caribbean: The challenge of inclusive growth T he sun of the new millennium has risen high in Its energy resources are also abundant. Here too, Latin America and the Caribbean. The region’s though, yawning disparities prevail. While Venezuela economy has performed at its strongest since the has the world’s largest proven oil reserves, smaller 1970s, extreme poverty has been cut to just six percent countries are almost entirely dependent on imports of the population, and the ranks of the middle class to meet their power needs. are booming. The challenges, therefore, remain. For Latin America Despite growth tailing off after the 2008 financial cri- to enjoy growth that is truly sustainable and inclu- sis, the lives of millions continue to improve. More sive, many obstacles must still be overcome. jobs are available—an estimated 70 million women The World Bank warns of the region’s over-reliance on have joined the labor market— and social spending commodity exports; of the need for greater innova- has significantly increased, leading to better public tion and diversification, and for the establishment of services. broader and deeper links to the global economy. It The impressive statistics, however, come with a also highlights the continent’s weak infrastructure caveat: not all countries or people have had the good and logistical deficiencies. Then there are inflationary fortune to be part of this transformation. There re- pressures, capital-flow volatility and exchange-rate in- main substantial differences among nations—in stability—all factors that have to be addressed. terms of size and wealth—and within nations—in On the social front, urgent steps need to be taken to terms of income, gender and ethnic inequalities. improve the lot of the 80 million Latin Americans The region holds enormous promise. In addition to who live in extreme poverty, the 47 million who suffer broad swathes of fertile farmland—which have made from hunger and the 30 million who lack access to it the largest net food-exporting region in the world— modern electricity services. Should the economic it is home to almost a quarter of the world’s forests context change, the new middle class will also be vul- and close to one-third of global fresh water sources. nerable. 2 OFID QUARTERLY JULY 2014 OFID has close ties with the region. Member Country Given their relative importance, it is no coincidence Venezuela was instrumental in OFID’s establishment that the water supply and sanitation, agriculture and 38 years ago. It was in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, energy sectors together account for over 38 percent of at the second OPEC summit in 2000, that OPEC OFID’s cumulative commitments to the region. heads of state and government reaffirmed their com- Improved infrastructure—including roads and other mitment to poverty eradication, describing it as the forms of transport—represent the key to the conti- “overriding global priority.” nent’s economic competitiveness. And here, too, we Ecuador, meanwhile, has just reactivated its member- are channeling substantial support—some US$554m ship after an absence of 22 years, recognizing in OFID as of end-2013. Better transport links will help cut “an invaluable tool” for realizing President Correa’s the cost of doing business in Latin America, make its vision of “a strong and united Latin America working exports more attractive and promote regional inte- collectively for the economic and social betterment gration. of our people, our region and developing countries We are also putting our trade finance and private sec- around the world.” tor facilities to good use in many of our Partner Coun- Most important of all are our Partner Countries—31 tries. These useful mechanisms are mostly benefiting of them across the region, from Haiti, the poorest, to micro-, small- and medium-size enterprises, which Brazil, the world’s seventh largest economy. Since first are the main engine of economic growth and typi- providing balance of payments support to El Salvador, cally account for almost 80 percent of jobs across the Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti and Honduras in 1976, we continent. have delivered a total US$2.2bn to the region in OFID has had the privilege of working in Latin Amer- much-needed development financing for a wide ica and the Caribbean for almost 40 years. In addition range of initiatives. to our own direct assistance, we have served as a cata- As elsewhere in the world, our primary objective in lyst—by dint of our membership—for enhanced Arab Latin America is to alleviate poverty among the most cooperation. Having supported the region through vulnerable and underserved members of the popula- some difficult times, it is gratifying to finally witness tion. We also seek to support countries’ economic the blossoming of its inherent promise. transformation and boost competitiveness. We stand ready to work with our Partner Countries to Given the region’s needs—and its potential—OFID’s safeguard this promise and the progress already strategic focus on the water-food-energy nexus is par- achieved, and to make good the outstanding chal- ticularly timely. Water resources, though plentiful, lenges—especially those involving the more fragile must be well-managed to remain sustainable. The peoples and nations. As the Latin American sun rises ࡯ agriculture sector has the capacity—if properly nur- ever higher, they must not be left in the shadows. tured—to be the future breadbasket of the world. And the region’s rich energy resources could be better har- nessed to help power agro-industry and make daily tasks easier for ordinary people. OFID QUARTERLY JULY 2014 3 PHOTO: ZOLTAN MAJOR/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM ZOLTAN PHOTO: 4 SPECIAL FEATURE Latin America’s golden era: The road ahead After a decade of substantial growth and social achievements, progress continues in countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, albeit at a lower rate. Now the region faces the challenge of establishing strong policies for sustained progress. by Lorena Gil 5 SPECIAL FEATURE he new millennium brought hope to Latin the region. These include territorial heterogene- T America and the Caribbean (LAC). Eco- ity, cultural diversity and asymmetries with the nomic growth and social progress came hand in developed world, as well as weak institutions and hand, bringing important changes to the region, human rights gaps.