Guatemala wishes to see a much enlarged CFC
Mr. Carlos Eduardo Bran Gómez, Chargé d’Affaires at the Embassy of Guatemala to the Netherlands in The Hague, is seen with Managing Director Ambassador Sheikh Mohammed Belal at the Secretariat of the CFC.
During the discussion, Ambassador Belal provided Mr. Bran Gómez with an overview of both current and potential future initiatives undertaken by the CFC. Acknowledging the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Ambassador Belal expressed the desire to strengthen working relationships and partnerships with countries moving forward.
Drawing from the lessons learned from the pandemic, Ambassador Belal underscored the significance of capacity-building initiatives beyond the traditional scope of CFC projects.
Regarding the ongoing call for proposals by the CFC, Ambassador Belal encouraged Mr. Bran Gómez to disseminate the information widely, facilitating the submission of high-quality projects from Guatemala by qualified SMEs/enterprises for consideration by the CFC Executive Board.
The exchange between Mr. Bran Gómez and Ambassador Belal laid the groundwork for prospective collaboration. Mr. Bran Gómez offered constructive suggestions on how Guatemala and the CFC could further strengthen their partnership, aligning their efforts toward sustainable development goals. Mr Gomez, while appreciating the work of CFC, wishes to see much enlarged CFC as, in his word, the grassroot needs much more in assistance than what is available.
Ambassador Belal referred to a proposition made by the Permanent Representative of Guatemala in the United Nations in New York in a recent meeting of ECOSOC where the correlations between commodity price volatility and outward migration from the developing world were discussed. Sharing practical experiences from many source countries along the European shores, Ambassador Belal registered its readiness to pilot ideas to stem the flow of outward migration through creation of gainful job in the source countries.
Concluding the meeting, both parties expressed mutual assurances of support and commitment to follow up on necessary actions in the coming days.