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ParlAmericas at the 2026 Latin America and Caribbean International Economic Forum: Development, innovation, and inter-parliamentary cooperation

January 29, 2026 | Activity

Photo Credit: National Assembly of Panama and CAF

In a regional context marked by profound economic, technological, and environmental transformations, debates on development in Latin America and the Caribbean are increasingly permeated by questions of governance, democratic legitimacy, and inclusion. At the intersection of these dynamics, ParlAmericas participated in the 2026 Latin America and Caribbean International Economic Forum, held on January 28 and 29 in Panama City, a high-level event organized by CAF—the development bank of Latin America and the Caribbean—in partnership with the Government of Panama, which brought together political and business leaders and decision-makers to reflect on key economic and development challenges facing the region.

A parliamentary delegation from ParlAmericas engaged actively in the Forum’s discussions with an agenda designed to reaffirm the role of parliaments in building democratic responses to development challenges, highlighting in particular the potential of digital transformation and climate action as drivers of growth, inclusion, and competitiveness in Latin America and the Caribbean. These perspectives were evident both in spaces promoted by ParlAmericas and in sessions of the Forum’s official program and strategic bilateral meetings.

In line with the Forum’s discussions, ParlAmericas, together with the United Nations Development Programme and CAF, organized the interparliamentary meeting Innovation and Regulation for Development: Consensus Toward People-Centered AI. Supported by the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada, this activity was conceived as a space to place artificial intelligence at the center of the political debate on development in the region.

The exchange underscored that the deployment of artificial intelligence is not only a technological challenge, but also a strategic decision that affects competitiveness, regulatory sovereignty, and social cohesion. In this regard, participants agreed on the need to move toward digital governance frameworks that articulate innovation and rights, incorporate gender equality and inclusion, and recognize the structural gaps and unequal capacities that characterize Latin America and the Caribbean.

That same day, the Latin American and Caribbean Parliamentary Summit, organized by PARLATINO with the support of CAF, reaffirmed the value of inter-parliamentary cooperation in sustaining democratic dialogue amid an increasingly complex regional landscape . In this context, ParlAmericas joined the Parliamentary Alliance for Climate Action and Just Transition, formalized through the signatures of Chilean Senator Iván Flores, President of ParlAmericas, and Cuban Member of the Chamber of Deputies Rolando González Patricio, President of Parlatino.

The goal of this accession process is to build a shared agenda of legislative priorities on climate action, rooted in interparliamentary cooperation and a just transition.

The delegation’s engagement also extended to sessions held as part of the Forum. Paraguayan Senator Blanca Ovelar, a member of the ParlAmericas Council, participated as a panelist in the workshop Governance for Development. Results of the 2025 Dialogues: Actors and Agendas for the Future, organized by the UNDP and CAF. In her speech, Senator Ovelar warned that development today faces a central political limitation: the gap between citizens’ expectations and the capacity of States to deliver results, a gap deepened by structural inequalities that undermine democratic trust.

In turn, Uruguayan Member of the Chamber of Deputies Rodrigo Goñi, a member of the ParlAmericas Digital Caucus, spoke at the session on Agentic AI and Digitalization as Drivers of Competitiveness in Latin America and the Caribbean, organized by CAF. During the session, he noted that debating AI involves addressing both the development opportunities it offers and the protection of rights across society. He also emphasized the central role of parliaments in advancing transparent, responsible, and non-discriminatory AI governance.

The agenda also included a series of bilateral meetings held by Senator Iván Flores with diplomatic representatives and officials from multilateral organizations: H.E. Patricia Atkinson, Canadian Ambassador to Panama; Roberto Valent, Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Development Coordination Office; Michelle Muschett, Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Development Programme; and Alejandra Mora Mora, Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission of Women.

Senator Flores also held exchanges with parliamentary delegations from Panama and Bolivia to deepen dialogue and explore common ground on shared priorities.

Overall, ParlAmericas’ participation in Panama brought to the fore the breadth of the discussions promoted at the 2026 Latin America and Caribbean International Economic Forum, which focused on the region’s most pressing challenges and the search for solutions for growth, inclusion, and competitiveness. From a parliamentary perspective, these exchanges reaffirmed that such debates are not confined to the economic or technological spheres, but rather require the active involvement of parliaments to provide political legitimacy, strategic guidance, and democratic sustainability to the transformations shaping Latin America and the Caribbean today.

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Photo Credit: National Assembly of Panama and CAF