A. M. 
El Salvador is committed to development in harmony with the environment. The Vice President of the Republic, Mr. Félix Ulloa Jr., gave the welcome speech at the 9th High Level Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Development Centre of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), in Paris, where the Latin American Economic Outlook (LEO) was presented, together with the Representative of France to the OECD, Amélie de Montchalin; the Director of Sustainable Development Policy and Coordination, European Commission, Mr. Luc Bagur; the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain, European Union and Cooperation, Mr. José Manuel Albares; the President of the Republic of Paraguay, Mr. Santiago Peña Palacios; and the President of the Council of Ministers of Peru, Mr. Gustavo Adrianzén Olaya.
During his speech, he highlighted the progress in security issues thanks to the leadership of President Nayib Bukele and the Territorial Control Plan, eradicating high crime rates, positioning the country as the safest in the western hemisphere. This improvement has been a catalyst for economic growth and attracting foreign investment.
The Vice President highlighted El Salvador’s efforts to achieve the so-called “economic miracle,” underscoring the country’s economic growth and the remarkable recovery of tourism, which generated revenues of US$3.8 billion. He also emphasized the consolidation of a green transition, driven by an innovative energy policy leading to 86% of the country’s energy matrix coming from renewable resources.
He also highlighted the largest financial operation of a US$1.031 billion debt conversion in El Salvador, in which all the savings generated in this transaction will be used to support conservation, water security, and ecosystem restoration in the Lempa River basin. J.P. Morgan Bank acted as sole arranger of the loan, with U.S. International Development Finance Corporation providing $1 billion in political risk insurance, and the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) providing a standby letter of credit of $200 million.
“With this historic agreement, in addition to ensuring the preservation of a key ecosystem for the future, El Salvador restructured part of its credit obligations to strengthen its financial position and obtain additional financing”, said the Vice President.
Subsequently, he met with the Head for Latin America and the Caribbean of the Development Centre, Sebastián Nieto Parra and the Coordinator of the report Latin American Economic Outlook 2024: “Financing Sustainable Development”, Ms. Olivia Cuq, which was delivered at the launch of LEO this day.
As part of his official visit to the OECD, the Vice-Minister met with Mr. José Antonio Ardavín, Head of the Latin America and Caribbean Division of the OECD’s Global Relations Secretariat, with whom he discussed the next steps to approach the different committees of the organization (Investment, Regulations, Education, Innovation, Technology, Competitiveness, among others) and proceed with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to accelerate El Salvador’s accession to the OECD.
