25/11/2002 - OECD officials and representatives of South American governments and international organisations will hold a two-day working-group session on 27-28 November 2002 in Argentina to discuss ways of promoting the development of small and medium-sized enterprises in the region.

The meeting, under the auspices of the Investment, Finance and Enterprise Development Programme for South America, will take place at the Hotel Llao-Llao in San Carlos de Bariloche. A press conference will be held at the close of the meeting at 5.00 p.m. on 28 November 2002.

The meeting will be opened by Julio Massara, Secretary for Small and Medium Size Enterprises and Regional Development of Argentina, and Rainer Geiger, Deputy Director for Financial, Fiscal and Enterprise Affairs at the OECD. Participants will include representatives of Mercosur, Bolivia, Chile and OECD countries, as well as of international organisations and academic institutions.

The agenda includes three specific topics: how to develop competitive advantages and opportunities for enterprise development; how to promote national and foreign investment in tourism and technological development; and identifying key areas and political challenges for the implementation, creation and sustainability of the regional development agencies.

For further information, journalists are invited to contact Mr. Daniel Krupa in Argentina's Secretariat for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (Sepyme), Tel: [54] 29 44 44 85 30.