Brief History

Following the approval of the Charter (Acta Constitutiva del Foro de Presidentes de Poderes Legislativos de Centroamérica y la Cuenca del Caribe) on August 26th 1994, the parliamentarian leaders agreed to support an institution that would properly ensure the continuity of its resolutions.

Establishment of Specialised Commissions
In fulfilling it's mandate as originally defined in the Charter, FOPREL has made important advances in its work. Among its achievements toward greater regional cooperation, is the establishment of Permanent Inter-parliamentarian Commissions, within the following areas:

(1) The Commission on Social Cohesion and Poverty Reduction, chaired by Honduras.

(2) The Commission on International Matters such as Regional Integration, Peacebuilding and Strengthening Democracy, chaired by El Salvador.

(3) The Commission on Economics, International Treaties and Conventions, chaired by Guatemala.

(4) The Commission on Public Services, chaired by Nicaragua.

(5) The Commission on Migration, chaired by Costa Rica.

(6) The Commission on Tourism, Youth and Sports, chaired by the Dominican Republic.

(7) The Commission on Education, chaired by Belize.

(8) The Commission on Agriculture, Food, Environment and Development, chaired by Panama.

(9) The Commission on Probity Transparency, chaired by the Dominican Republic.

In addition, there are four Inter-Parliamentarian commissions specializing in these areas:
(a) The Commission on Political and Electoral Reform, chaired by Guatemala.
(b) The Commission on Commercial Development and Competition, chaired by Nicaragua.
(c) The Commission on Modernization, Port Development and Energy Infrastructure, chaired by Costa Rica.
(d) There is also a bi-lateral inter-parliamentarian commission between Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Currently, a tri-lateral Inter-parliamentarian commission including El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua is in development.

If you want more information on the commissions (in Spanish), please click here.