COCESNA was represented at this transcendental event of the Central American Integration System (SICA), which took place at the Spanish Cooperation Training Center in La Antigua Guatemala, from September 24 to 26, 2019, with the participation of Eng. Rony Montenegro, Station Manager Guatemala and Mr. Alfredo Santos Mondragón, Internal Secretary.

At the opening ceremony, during the event and at its conclusion, the following officials were present: Mr. Werner Vargas, Executive Director SG-SICA, Mrs. Olga Pozo, Senior Advisor, Spain-SICA Fund, Dña. María Luisa Ausmesquet, Coordinator of the Training Area of the Spanish Cooperation in Antigua Guatemala, in addition to the virtual video greeting by Mr. Vinicio Cerezo, Secretary General of SICA, and the interaction with Mrs. Olga del Pino Escobar, and officials of the SG-SICA.

The objectives to be achieved with this 1st Technical Group (TG) Workshop is to advance in:

That the Central American region has a long-term development plan with medium-term objectives and goals within the framework of SICA;

That the Long-Term Development Plan be articulated with national development plans and encourage its execution with regional instruments and strengthening national capacities, seeking to articulate its commitments with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda and the Development Plan for the region;

The System should organize its regional development instruments in the short term to improve their effectiveness and operability and obtain tangible results from the Development Plan approved by the Presidents;

Optimization of SICA’s functioning by streamlining the coordination of its institutions and gaining in operability and efficiency;

That the political dialogue that promotes consensus for the long-term Development Plan manages to articulate national and regional interests and promotes systemic work between governments, institutions, civil society and the private sector;

That the articulated operation and the achievement of results reinforce the incentives for integration and promote a shared vision towards the future, which will help to jointly position the region in the face of global phenomena and the interests of third parties;

That the definition of strategic priorities and the functionality of the Development Plan allows the alignment of development partners around the interests, objectives and goals of the region;

That the combination of the design of a long-term development plan and the organization and rationalization of the operation of the System with the presentation of processes and tangible results be mutually reinforced with strategic communication, positioning and visibility, which from SICA informs the citizens of Central America and the Dominican Republic of the benefits of integration, contributing to build regional identity.