3 These developments have helped to mitigate the effects on Latin America of financial market strains and the slowdown in U.S. economic activity. It is important not to lose sight of the fact that linkages through trade and capital flows continue to be important and, indeed, have even increased over the past decade or so.
The question of public debt financing takes us to the subject of another Session – Session 3 – where the issuance of sukuk bonds, whose total outstanding volume reached $ billions in 2012, will be discussed, together with their increased role in international capital markets.