Mark Lopes, USAID's deputy assistant administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean, spoke to more than 300 Nicaraguan business and government officials during a celebration in Managua for the fifth anniversary of the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR).
“When we help small farmers and small Nicaraguan businesses access new markets, we also help develop markets for our products,' Lopes said. 'Because when businesses are more prosperous here they can buy the machinery and other supplies they need from the U.S. to invest and expand. This means more jobs in the U.S. and in Nicaragua and a population with greater purchasing power.
“We are breaking the old donor-recipient development model and focusing instead on partnerships that promote prosperity and opportunity for all,” he added.
Lopes called on the Nicaraguan private sector to join the Central American Citizen Security Partnership, announced by President Obama during his recent trip to Latin America, to help confront the narcotics traffickers and gangs that threaten all countries of the hemisphere.
