Readout of Vice President Harris’s Roundtable with Central America Forward Stakeholders

Vice President Kamala Harris convened Central America Forward (CAF) stakeholders today at the White House. CAF is a public-private partnership created in response to the Vice President’s 2021 Call to Action to the private sector to deepen investment in northern Central America. CAF is expanding economic opportunity and promoting good governance in northern Central America, which helps reduce irregular migration.

The Vice President announced that CAF has now generated more than $5.2 billion in private sector commitments for El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, including $1 billion of new commitments announced today. These private sector investments have already created more than 70,000 jobs in the region, provided skills training for more than 1 million people, brought more than 2.5 million people into the formal financial economy, and connected more than 4.5 million people to the internet.

The Vice President convened leaders from government, the private sector, and civil society to discuss next steps for CAF. Vice President Harris was also joined by special guest President Bernardo Arévalo of Guatemala, marking the first time a foreign head of state has joined one of these convenings. She thanked partners for their ongoing support and underscored that, while this a long-term development effort, we are making progress and giving people hope and economic opportunity. The Vice President discussed the need to continue to advance good governance efforts, create good paying jobs, reduce violence, empower women, and promote labor rights.  

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