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Mr. Meyer was officially received in Guatemala City. The first item on the agenda was a meeting with the staff of the Swisscontact Guatemala office, in which they had the opportunity to present the projects that are being implemented; the meeting was led by Carlos Morales Cajas, country director.
During the meeting, the results of projects such as New Opportunities in Guatemala, Expert Consultant Services, Innova and AGEE were shared by the coordinators of each initiative.
Guatemala is one of the few countries that has had the honor of receiving such an important official, so a work agenda was prepared for him to learn first-hand about the results of the projects and the cultural richness of the country.
After the initial meeting, Mr. Meyer was transferred to the "La Aurora" international airport for a 30-minute trip to the city of Coban, Alta Verpaz, headquarters of the north-eastern office of the country.
The second territory visited in Guatemala was Cobán, a mountainous city in the department of Alta Verapaz, located in a humid, green and cloudy subtropical zone. Upon arrival, Mr. Thomas Meyer, accompanied by Saúl Díaz, regional director for Latin America, and Carlos Morales, director for Guatemala, were cordially received by a Swisscontact Team and the coordinator from the office in Cobán.
The main strategic partners were visited for a day, and through their own words and feelings, they expressed their total gratitude to Swisscontact for the support they have received over the past four years.
On this occasion, Mr. Thomas Meyer met some key partner institutions that were part of the Empodera project, under the auspices of SIDA and the Embassy of Sweden in Guatemala, recently also financially supported by COSUDE. Empodera implemented actions such as access to quality technical training, labor market insertion, sustainable entrepreneurship and empowerment of women and youth in 12 municipalities of the Department of Alta Verapaz.
One of the meetings held during the visit was with the Federation of Cooperatives of Alta Verapaz, to learn details about investment and development.
The facilities of the cooperative Chicoj R.L., also a member of the cooperatives that make up FEDECOVERA, were visited; it is important to note that this cooperative organization was the winner of the investment funds called "Innovation Fund", as well as other companies in the food and beverage, gastronomy and tourism sectors, among others.
The agenda also included a visit to the Orquigonia association, a company in the tourism sector that has benefited from various processes. This place was the stage for the presentation of other beneficiaries, among them: training centers, educational institutions, entrepreneurs and even beneficiaries of the labor insertion strategy called "Labor Internships", who currently already have a job.
Finally, the entire delegation that accompanied this important visit to the territory was transferred to a local hotel, where the agenda was closed with the participation of several women's institutions, including representatives of the Ministry of Health and the Public Ministry, who shared with Mr. Meyer about the joint work that was developed with the Empodera project team of Swisscontact Guatemala.
To conclude the agenda in Guatemala, the President was scheduled to attend meetings with project beneficiaries and strategic partners such as, the Colombina® food industry manager, a representative of the returned migrant population that has successfully started their own business and the Guatemalan Exporters Association -AGEXPORT-.
Mr. Meyer's visit to Guatemala was successful, fulfilling the objective of presenting the benefits that Swisscontact has brought to the country.
