Under Secretary of State Jose W. Fernandez will travel to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on March 17 and San José, Costa Rica, on March 19 to engage with government officials, business leaders, and civil society to support regional investment objectives, health and environment programs, and pandemic relief.
In Honduras, Under Secretary Fernandez will meet with President Xiomara Castro, an important U.S. partner, to deepen our ongoing collaboration to improve conditions for the people of Honduras and the United States. The Under Secretary will also meet with Honduran Minister of Health José Manuel Matheu Amaya and Minister of Economic Development Pedro Barquero to discuss the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including measures to support economic recovery. Under Secretary Fernandez will be joined by U.S. corporate leaders who have responded to the U.S. government's Call to Action for investment in Central America. They will hold a series of meetings with government and the private sector to promote increased investment in Honduras to further job growth and greater economic inclusion and opportunity for Hondurans. In addition, Under Secretary Fernandez will meet with civil society groups to advance our support for essential anti-corruption and labor rights efforts.
From Tegucigalpa, Under Secretary Fernandez will travel to San José, Costa Rica, where he will support the advancement of regional integration through a Summit of the Alliance for Development in Democracy (ADD), which will include President Carlos Andrés Alvarado Quesada of Costa Rica, President Luis Abinader Corona of the Dominican Republic, and President Laurentino Cortizo Cohen of Panama, along with other high-level government officials from these three countries. These discussions will address collaborative approaches to strengthening democratic institutions throughout the region and promoting inclusive economic growth. He will also participate in meetings with private-sector representatives on the creation of an ADD-U.S. business council and the importance of building supply chain resilience, as well as meetings with Government of Costa Rica representatives on 5G development and public health. Additionally, he will join representatives from Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador to discuss the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor.
