Economic & Trade Lunch hosted by Roberto Murray Meza,Honorary Consul of Ireland San Salvador

Remarks by Michael D. Higgins President of Ireland

La Universidad Centroamericana, San Salvador, El Salvador

Friday, 25th October, 2013

Estimados representantes del Gobierno, Embajadora Hyland, Embajador Romero, Consul Honorario, Sr. Roberto Murray Meza, Señoras y Señores,

Me resulta sumamente grato tener la oportunidad de encontrarme con ustedes. Deseo agradecerle, Don Roberto, por reunir a este grupo.

También me complace que esté con nosotros Joe Costello TD, el Ministro irlandés cuyas áreas a cargo incluyen comercio y desarrollo.

My visit to El Salvador is of great significance to me. It is over 30 years since my first visit and I feel a great affection for this country, and its people. To return as President of Ireland is a great honour, and I very much appreciate President Funes’s invitation to do so.

My past visits here were in the context of the dark days of conflict, and of my anxiety at that time to bear witness internationally to the terrible consequences of that violence, and to express solidarity with the people of El Salvador as they envisioned a future of justice and peace.

It is a source of great satisfaction to me that I am now returning to a country that has embarked on a journey towards prosperity and peace, with political stability, economic growth and inclusive development as its objectives.

Just as I bore witness in the 1980s to dark days, I am equally committed to bear witness now – in my home country and internationally - to the great progress that El Salvador has made.

The process of building stability, growth and development is not, of course, a linear one, nor is it easy or without its challenges.

We in Ireland know only too well how conflict leaves many painful wounds in its destructive wake. We know from our own peace process in Northern Ireland that these wounds do not heal easily. We also appreciate that building peace and stability is not a single act. It is instead a process that requires strong political will and leadership, as well as a consistent, continuous multifaceted approach that works through tangible measures to address inequalities and marginalisation in society.

Progress on stability, growth and inclusion can never be the work of a solitary actor, or a small number of key stakeholders. It is best secured when it involves the widest number of participants from across society.

I know that many of you gathered here this afternoon recognise the need for engagement and ideas from a broad range of people and organisations, and that you are active through various means in contributing to a process of dialogue and debate aimed at benefiting all of the citizens of El Salvador.

Some of you, including Don Roberto, are I know working closely with government in discussions on what types of policies and legislative safeguards can best support an environment that is conducive to a growth that is sustainable, equitable and inclusive. I very much welcome, and am greatly heartened, to hear of this constructive engagement on these critical themes.

While securing broad consensus on policy options is important, it is also valuable to provide the space for the contest of ideas drawn from a genuinely pluralist scholarship and education capable of producing differing models of economy and society and their inter-connection, ones that are also culturally rooted and ethical in

purpose. As a former academic, I firmly believe that it is through robust and probing debate that better options present themselves – options which are capable of attracting broad-based support.

Whether in Europe, Central America or elsewhere, what is needed is critical thinking and analysis that questions prevailing orthodoxies. We need enquiring, questioning minds; we need openness to alternative models of growth and development; and we need this process of debate to be conducted in a generous spirit of respect for the views of those who may differ from our own perspectives. In short, we need people who are committed to what is, at times, the fragile thread of shared discourse.

I encourage you, in your different activities and from your different perspectives, to continue to engage in such a constructive debate.

In this context, I was delighted to learn that La UCA, the University of El Salvador and one of our most important academic institutions in Ireland, University College Cork, are to become partners in an important, European-Union funded project – AMIDILA. This project encourages and supports the mobility of students and scholars between Europe and Latin America, with a special focus on Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador.

I understand that representatives from the UCA and the University of El Salvador are here today. May I tell how much we look forward to receiving our first cohort of Salvadoran students at University College Cork. I have no doubt that their contributions will enrich the dialogue and deepen the relationships between our two countries.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

One of the lessons of the recent economic crisis in Europe and elsewhere is that you cannot sustain an expanding economy if it is accompanied by growing inequality, or scarred by chronic unemployment and related poverty. Economic growth in and of itself is insufficient if it is not supporting poverty reduction and quality investments that underpin sustainable development and benefit all citizens.

I understand that a number of you have visited Ireland, or have made yourselves aware of developments in Ireland, and that you find aspects of our approach to development to be of interest.

I do not suggest that Ireland, or the European Union, is a flawless model of best practice. Indeed, it is my view that Ireland and Europe can learn a lot from many parts of Latin America.

In Ireland we are, as you know, experiencing the difficult consequences of the global economic and financial crisis.

Fiscal adjustment and rebalancing is having a very painful impact on our citizens.

We are emerging from the worst of the crisis, and recent predictions suggest GDP growth of 1.8% in 2014 as against 0.2% this year. However we have been bruised by how vulnerable we were not only to the global financial collapse but also to an unhealthy strain of speculation – sourced at home and mainly based on property – that had taken root in our economy.

Learning those lessons, we recognise the need to turn away from that failed path, and to ensure that our economic future is based on a sustainable model of talented people, creating valuable goods and services, innovating and connecting to global partners, customers and investors in deeper, more authentic and enduring ways.

Our recovery – still in its early days but showing encouraging signs – is supported by factors such as our continued attractiveness as a location for investment, and particularly our strong exports performance. The value of our exports last year exceeded the peaks reached before the economic crisis.

Throughout the global economic upheaval of recent years, Ireland has continued to offer a very attractive base for international companies doing business in Europe and the wider region. More than 1,000 global companies have chosen Ireland as their European headquarters, including household names such as eBay, Intel and Facebook.

Indeed, Ireland is home to 9 of the world’s top 10 global pharmaceutical companies; over 50% of the world’s leading financial services firms; and 10 of the top “Born on the Internet” companies. In the first half of this year alone, 70 leading international companies established or expanded their operations in Ireland.

We in Ireland are fortunate that investment in education over decades means that we have one of the world’s most highly educated, skilled and productive workforces. In a recently published report on education, the OECD notes that Ireland has the highest proportion of 25-34 year olds who have successfully completed thirdlevel education in the European Union, with almost half of all people in this age group completing third level education.

That is a great achievement, and one that provides us with a very solid foundation on which to pursue opportunities.

However, we are not complacent about the challenges we face. The same OECD report records a disturbing upward trend since 2008 in the numbers of young people in Ireland finding themselves neither employed nor in education, or training.

Our young people in Ireland, as in El Salvador, need hope and opportunities. This is the particular challenge that we now face. And in facing this challenge we must pursue better policies and practices which replace speculative opportunism, that only benefits a few, with the pursuit of sound opportunities that are available to all. In doing so, we believe we are offering our young people their best prospects.

I know that in El Salvador at present the creation of opportunities for the youth of this country is urgent. Generating jobs so that young people have options other than migration or even, in some cases, criminality, is not so much a policy choice as it is an imperative if this country is to develop in a sustainable and just way. Be assured of our solidarity with you in this important task.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to note the presence in the audience this afternoon of a number of diplomatic colleagues from EU Embassies. The EU is an important partner in development, and I welcome the fact that the EU’s assistance here is targeted on supporting your work on poverty reduction, social cohesion and sustainable development. This includes support for the Government of El Salvador’s programmes on improved access to basic public services, as well as projects dealing with issues such as gender-based violence and the impact of climate change.

Another development of significance is that of the EU-Central America Association Agreement. This Agreement provides a helpful and timely framework; but it is in the implementation of this Agreement that we have the opportunity for meaningful connections, connections which have both economic and societal benefits.

Ireland and El Salvador know of each other but we should get to know each other better.

I do not pretend that building deeper partnerships happens quickly but, as I have noted, I feel that there exists an affinity between our two countries and peoples and there is much potential for developing the type of connections from which cultural, educational and trade dividends can flourish.

El Ministro Costello y yo esperamos tener conversaciones amistosas en el almuerzo de hoy, pero también esperamos que esta visita - la primera visita de un Presidente de Irlanda a El Salvador - contribuya a lograr un diálogo más profundo y a forjar una amistad duradera en los años que vienen.

Muchísimas Gracias.

[Minister Costello and I look forward to warm conversations over lunch today, but it is our hope that this visit, the first visit to El Salvador by a President of Ireland, can advance deeper dialogue and friendships in the years ahead.

Thank you.]