President Rodrigo Chaves Robles attended the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity Leaders' Summit, which took place over the weekend in Washington DC, U.S.A.

At the summit Chaves spoke with U.S. President Joe Biden, to address issues such as strengthening critical supply chains, clean energy, semiconductors and medical supplies in the region.

Costa Rica also offered to host the next summit that will be held in 2025.

This year, the U.S. president hosted the summit which established a forum for bolstering regional competitiveness and mobilizing high-standard investment in the hemisphere.

At the summit, President Biden met leaders of different countries that participated in the international meeting such as – Barbados, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Uruguay. 

The Americas Partnership countries agreed to undertake efforts in issues such as foreign affairs, finance, and trade – to collectively develop and implement a focused set of initiatives and actions.

They also committed to establishing a mechanism for inviting additional countries in the hemisphere to join and contribute to this initiative.

The U.S. also announced some initiatives in support of the Americas Partnership such as launching a new investment platform to channel billions of dollars in financing for sustainable infrastructure. 

The partnership between the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will establish the IDB’s Grant Facility, a joint investment program. The collaboration aims to channel billions of dollars in financing for sustainable infrastructure and critical economic sectors in the Americas.

The investments aim to help build modern ports, clean energy grids, and digital infrastructure. "By adhering to high quality, labor, and environmental standards, these investments will ensure the benefits of these projects are broadly shared," the White House said in its statement.

The U.S. also will set up a new accelerator program to support and steer investment to hundreds of up-and-coming entrepreneurs. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will establish a multi-year accelerator program that brings together cohorts of up-and-coming entrepreneurs from the Americas. 

This Americas Partnership Accelerator will help to support these entrepreneurs, providing them with training and connecting them with networks of potential private sector investors. 

"The Accelerator aims to directly benefit hundreds of entrepreneurs, mobilize millions of dollars in additional capital, and showcase the untapped entrepreneurial talent across the region," the White House said.

The USAID committed an initial investment of $5 million to launch this multi-year initiative IDB’s Grant Facility, with Canada committing an additional three million CAD. 

Additionally, the U.S., Canada, the Republic of Korea, and Spain will provide grants to expand infrastructure and social services for migrants and their host communities. They will work with the IDB to make available a combined $89 million for IDB’s Grant Facility to support countries in the region most impacted by migration. 

"These funds will help stabilize refugee and migrant-hosting communities by funding infrastructure and social services, such as education, citizen security, and economic opportunities, as part of our shared commitments under the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection and the Americas Partnership," the White House said.

Working with Congress, USAID intends to contribute $25 million to the IDB’s Grant Facility program. Canada is contributing $10 million, in addition to its previous contribution in 2022 resulting in a total Canadian contribution of $16 million to the program. The Republic of Korea will contribute $2 million, adding to their previous contribution of $10 million to the program in 2019. Spain will contribute $2 million, resulting in a total Spanish contribution of $7 million to the program since 2019. 

"These contributions, joined by $50 million from the IDB, demonstrate our shared commitment to better policies for improved living conditions of migrants in the Western Hemisphere," authorities said.

Additional agreements reached at the summit are related to helping develop a robust regional workforce in the digital technology sectors of the future, and creating a new fund to catalyze investment in innovative climate financing solutions.

In August, U.S. President Biden, met with President Chaves Robles at the White House to expand on the partnership between both countries.