Central bank governors and finance ministers in Latin America and the Caribbean explain how their countries are positioned to improve prospects for the economy, banking and foreign direct investment.

Barbados

Central Bank Governor

Dr Marion Williams

Barbados

Finance Minister and Prime Minister

Owen Arthur

Chile

Central Bank Governor

Carlos Massad

Colombia

Finance Minister

Roberto Junguito

Ecuador

Finance Minister

Mauricio Pozo

The questions

1. What is your view of the growth prospects for the international economy in the next 12 months and how will your home country be affected by this?

2. What policies has your country recently adopted that will assist its economic development in the next few years?

3. What policies has your country recently adopted that will assist the development of its financial sector in the next few years?

4. How has the Argentine crisis affected both your country and the region? If the impact is minimal, please explain why.

5. Does the election of Luis Inacio Lula da Silva as Brazil’s president mark a new stage in Latin America’s democratic development? How much is the Venezuela crisis a step backwards?

6. What are the prospects for FDI flows in both your country and the region in the next years? What could help to improve them?

This article first appeared in The Banker's March 2003 issue