Check against delivery.
Estimado Presidente Santiago Peña
Ministro Carlos Fernández Valdovinos, Ministro de Economía y Finanzas
Otros ministros
Vice President (Anabel) Gonzalez,
Distinguished guests,
Vicepresidenta (Anabel) González
Distinguidos invitados,
Amigos a todos.
Agradecemos al Presidente Peña y al Gobierno de Paraguay por recibirnos tan cálidamente aquí en Asunción, y al Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo por colaborar con nosotros en este evento.
Continuaré ahora en inglés.
Welcome to this Third OECD Latin America and the Caribbean Ministerial Summit on Governance.
Your discussions today will be an opportunity to exchange on how Latin American and Caribbean countries can further align their governance frameworks with international standards and best practices, deepen regional integration and ultimately promote strong, resilient and inclusive growth.
The opportunities of enhanced regional co-operation and investment linkages are significant.
For example, intra-regional trade in Latin America and the Caribbean accounts for only 15% of the trade for countries in the region —well below Asia (55%) and Europe (68%).
Stronger regional linkages mean better opportunities for workers and businesses, more resilient supply chains and a more favourable environment for foreign direct investment – particularly in value-added export industries.
To help foster these linkages, the OECD Latin America and Caribbean Regional Programme, launched in 2016, has promoted regional co-operation and integration through alignment with international best practice.
Across non-OECD countries in Latin America and the Caribbean there are now 302 adherences to OECD legal instruments across policy areas – the most of any region with an OECD regional programme.
Our co-operation has in turn greatly benefitted the OECD’s work, allowing us to integrate new perspectives and unique policy experiences into our analysis.
For example, today we are releasing the results of the OECD Survey on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Our results show that on average across the ten countries surveyed, 35% of respondents expressed high or moderately high trust in the national government, while 48% report low or no trust, with significant variations across countries and institutions.
Key priorities for fostering trust going forward include ensuring high-quality public service delivery, and improving accountability and communication with citizens.
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This Ministerial Summit provides a platform for discussion on how to advance these objectives, and strengthen the region’s governance frameworks more broadly across several priorities.
First, continuing to enhance the region’s public integrity frameworks.
The latest OECD Public Integrity Indicator data shows that Latin American and Caribbean countries score above the OECD average on both the quality and implementation of integrity regulations.1
Building on these strong foundations, our analysis shows that governments in the region can enhance their frameworks in line with best practice, including:
- Tackling undue influence by further regulating lobbying and political financing;
- Enhancing merit-based recruitment and promotion practices in the civil service;
- Reinforcing judicial and prosecutorial independence, particularly for anticorruption cases; and
- Strengthening oversight by Supreme Audit Institutions.
Second, improving the effectiveness of public-private partnerships and infrastructure governance.
With limited fiscal space, making efficient and effective use of available resources is key for countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to deliver on critical infrastructure projects.
Towards this, the OECD is working with countries in the region to:
- Develop a long-term strategic vision for infrastructure aligned with broader policy goals, supported by effective procurement, evidence-based project selection, and appraisal;
- Embed value-for-money criteria throughout key project phases, from appraisal to delivery; and
- Strengthen government capabilities by professionalising the procurement workforce through competitive career paths and performance-based frameworks.
Third, harnessing digital technologies, including AI, to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government policies and services.
Governments in Latin America and the Caribbean have been advancing the integration of digital technologies in their processes and services, with robust laws on privacy, increasing use of e-signature and e-procurement systems, and a widening range of public services being made available online.
Our OECD/Inter-American Development Bank Digital Government Index identifies opportunities to support further technology adoption in a safe and secure manner.
This includes targeted investments in digital public infrastructure, forming new partnerships with the private sector to adopt cutting-edge technologies and releasing more government data in open formats.
The OECD report on Governing with AI,2which we are launching in Spanish today, provides guidance on seizing these opportunities and boosting public sector AI adoption.
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Looking ahead, the OECD will draw on the insights from your discussions today as we implement our new Strategic Framework for Latin America and the Caribbean.
This Framework provides the basis for deeper bilateral and multilateral engagement on key priorities for policymakers in the region, including strengthening institutions and governance.
Together, we can unlock the region’s full, extraordinary potential, through best practice public governance frameworks that enhance government performance, foster citizens’ trust and provide the foundations for a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable future.
Thank you.
1 13 LAC countries are part of the OECD PIIs, of a total dataset comprising 63 countries. “Strategy” includes information from 13 LAC countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay and Peru), “Accountability” includes information from 12 LAC countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay and Peru), “Internal control and risk management” includes information from 6 LAC countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico and Peru).
2 OECD (2025), Governing with Artificial Intelligence: The State of Play and Way Forward in Core Government Functions, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/795de142-en.
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