The recently-complete Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations could be very good news for the region even with Mexico, Chile and Peru as the only Latin American countries taking part in it, World Bank Group (WBG) Chairman Jim Yong Kim affirmed.
After a decade of strong growth and tremendous social progress, Latin America, like other regions, is facing headwinds, he noted.
"We forecast that the region will experience a minor 0.3% growth for 2015, with a slight improvement to 1.1% in 2016," the WBG official affirmed.
The slowdown poses a threat to hard-won social gains and countries must now adapt. Thus, nations in Latin America need to increase productivity, access to quality education and ensure that the state is more efficient in providing services.
The region can promote inclusive growth through reforms that enable it to take advantage of its openness to global trade.
Thus, the recently-complete Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations "could be very good news for the region even with Mexico, Chile and Peru as the only Latin American countries taking part."
"The TPP's potential influence on the world economy could help boost the region's growth," he finally stated.
Remarks were made in the framework of the Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the WBG and the IMF currently held in Lima.