The two organizations have signed an agreement that seeks to make a significant positive impact on the cost, time, and forecasting of traffic through border crossings in the short term.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Secretariat for Central American Economic Integration (SIECA) have signed a nonrefundable technical cooperation agreement (link in Spanish) for US$435,000 to foster the implementation of five short-term measures that were included in the Central American Trade Facilitation and Competitiveness Strategy with an Emphasis on Coordinated Border Management (ECFCC).[Soledad, cambié la ubicación del hipervínculo ya que lleva a una nota sobre la firma del convenio, no solo al sitio de la SIECA]

 

The Council of Ministers passed a schedule that set out an 18-month time frame for the implementation of the following five measures:

  • Early declaration of goods
  • Streamlining and coordination of immigration checks
  • Electronic plant and animal health certificates
  • Checks via radio frequency identification (RFID) devices
  • Use of camera systems at border crossings

 

The ECFCC is the result of work carried out by the countries of Central America with technical support from SIECA and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The latter seeks to promote coordination between public- and private-sector agencies to improve the collection of duties, controls, and security and to facilitate the movement of goods and persons.

As was described in , the IDB has been providing different types of support for programs such as the and investments in the energy matrix and customs, among other key issues for integration in the region.