Government officials, unions and the business sector met today at the Society for Industrial Development (SOFOFA) in a workshop that addressed the experiences of Chile in public- private partnerships with a view to development cooperation. The event was organized by the Chilean Agency for International Cooperation, AGCICHILE, in conjunction with SOFOFA and those present discussed the advantages of this strategic link modality for development and our policy of international cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean.
In the context of the new architecture of international cooperation , Chile promotes innovative methods that currently involve academia (universities), the civil society (NGOs) and the private sector (businesses), achieving not only the participation of new stakeholders but promoting from each experience future cooperation projects adopted by this modality. In this sense, it promotes mutual learning, knowledge exchange and collaboration for social development and, in this regard, Chile is opening new possibilities of cooperation for the private sector.
Within this new trend , Chile currently develops projects coordinated by AGCICHILE, along with companies like Komatsu Cummins Chile, in the reconstruction of the Republic of Chile School damaged by the earthquake in Haiti in January 2010 and which educates over 580 girls in Port au Prince ; Aquology, in the project of rationalization and control of water loss in Peru; and the Chilean Exporters Association (ASOEX) in the improvement of the Comprehensive Program for Agricultural and Environmental Protection, sharing Chilean best practices and experience with Guatemala in phytosanitary certification and inspection.
Jorge Daccarett, Executive Director of AGCICHILE, referred to Chile’s international cooperation policy highlighting the new role of our country as a platform for cooperation between the OECD countries and the region. “Cooperative relations are no longer between governments. Requests for cooperation from applicant countries can be addressed by the CSR areas of companies, providing a real solution to the needs society may require,” he stressed.
For his part, Hugo Baierlein, manager of SOFOFA Foreign Trade, referred to the cooperation modalities in the public and private fields and in international organizations, such as IDB and ALADI, and highlighted the experience gained from the cooperation projects with funds such as the Chile-Mexico, as well as other cooperation agreements in the private sector led by SOFOFA with countries like Brazil Ecuador, Uruguay and Costa Rica.
For further information on public-private partnerships on international development cooperation, visit:
http://www.agci.cl/alianzasparaeldesarrollo/