With support from most of the 128 deputies from five political parties, Congress approved the project submitted by the Executive branch.
The decree will allow construction of the first Model City, to be built on the Honduran Atlantic area, becoming a legal entity in itself and with its own administration system.
"The legislative decision showed support for President Lobo, who yesterday told his countrymen the project would attract foreign investment to Honduras," reported the article in Lahora.com.gt.
In an area of 33 square km, the government promotes a project to build a 'Charter Cities' or 'Model City'.
Despite the criticism of the project, President Porfirio Lobo Sosa asked Congress for approval.
La Tribuna reported statements from the President "... a clear example of success is what happened in Hong Kong, China, they have progressed and we have them here selling ...
The loan from the International Fund for Agricultural Development will finance the program for the development of the southern region.
The Sustainable Rural Development Program for the Southern Region (EMPRENDESUR) aims to increase employment opportunities and food security for small producers.
Proceso.hn reproduces words of President Porfirio Lobo at the signing of the loan agreement, "We are bringing in large investments to Honduras, there is much talk at the lack of our own programs, but sometimes what we do not see is that if we promote programs like this, the sum of many small business owners make a big investment and profit.”
Two common issues facing modern agriculture: efficient food production and environmentally sustainable practises.
Agricultural Productivity plays a decisive role in the conservation of the environment as well as in economic and social development. As such, Central America's agricultural entrepreneurs and industries must keep themselves up-to-date with the latest innovations in maximizing harvests in the smallest surface area (ecological footprint) while optimizing water usage (virtual water and water footprint). This should be done alongside the region's Ministries of Agriculture and research organizations.
Representatives from South Korean companies are touring Panama, evaluating different regional investment options.
Several high profiles companies are represented in the trade mission: Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motors Company, LS-Nikko Copper, Korean Air, Hanjin Shipping, Korea Federation of Textile Industries and the Export-Import Bank of Korea, among others.
A recipe that mixes statistical data, reasoned argumentation and good intentions, ends in an absurd list of more or less pacific countries.
The industry of producing Indexes and Rankings, which at times provides useful information for business decision making, turns out real absurdities more often than not.
The Global Peace Index (GPI), developed by The Economist Intelligence Unit and the Institute for Economics and Peace, is a good example of this. It is based on the questionable premise that peace has a monetary value, as an economy can reach its maximum productive capacity under states of peace. It mixes, relates and weights statistical data provided by various international agencies to produce a figure that measures – according to its authors – how peaceful is each of these nations when compared to others. Its creators allege the number must be used to conduct strategic business analysis (“Using the Global Peace Index for Strategic Business Analysis”).
Honduras president-elect started a national dialogue process to develop a 28-year country plan.
The plan will focus on Honduras' most problematic areas: education, health, security and investment.
Porfirio Lobo remarked: "We will review the government plans proposed by all candidates, in addition to all the documents produced in over 30 forums in which the candidates participated.
¿Which are the most attractive countries for Foreign Direct Investment? In Central America and the Caribbean, Puerto Rico is ahead, followed by Costa Rica and Dominican Republic.
fDi Magazine presented the results of their first fDi Countries of the Future 2009/10 Award.
The fDi Countries of the Future ranking is calculated by gathering data on foreign direct investment for 31 countries of the Caribbean and Central America.
Given the degree of development of our region, we don't need great ideas nor millionaire investments to change our reality.
In his blog in Elfinancierocr.com, Emilio Zevallos gives an example of this: a group of African university students had the idea of installing mobile phone chargers in bicycles, the main transportation system for many people in rural areas, where electricity is scarce or does not exist.
Panamanian president Ricardo Martinelli proposed a new alternative for a highway linking the Americas, through Kuna Yala.
At the Tuxtla Summit, hosted by Costa Rica, the proposal of a highway linking Colombia with Panama was discussed again. This road would travel through the so called "Darién Gap".
"This proposal has been rejected by environmentalist groups, arguing that a road through Darién will affect the ecosystem.
Access to affordable, high quality internet and mobile phone services enables development across all levels of the economy and society.
The report by the World Bank, "Information and Communications for Development 2009: Extending Reach and Increasing Impact" takes an in-depth look at how ICT impacts economic growth in developing countries. The report finds that for every 10 percentage-point increase in high speed Internet connections there is an increase in economic growth of 1.3 percentage points. It also identifies the mobile platform as the single most powerful way to reach and deliver public and private services to hundreds of millions of people in remote and rural areas across the developing world.
“Quesungual” is an agro-forestry method whereby the forest is not cut down. Instead, planting is done among dispersed trees that are pruned to allow light to filter in.
Hurricane Mitch’s path through Honduras in 1998 not only caused 10 thousand deaths, it destroyed 40% of the crop in the country. However, in Lempira, on the western part of the country, planting done through the “Quesungual,” method survived the forces unleashed by the wind and water.
Salvadoran authorities are completing final details to host the XVIII Ibero-American Summit of heads of state and government from October 29 to 31.
Delegations from 22 countries in the region are expected to attend this huge event that will be held at the Fair and Convention Center, which is located int he western sector of the Salvadoran capital.
"We have created a logistical structure in order to cover all the needs of an event of this nature," said Cesar Enrique Arevalo of the organizing committee.