The Amatillo, in La Unión, was the first of the integrated border posts that El Salvador inaugurated together with Honduras.
The Minister of Economy, María Luisa Hayem, said that the borders of Anguiatú, in the department of Santa Ana, and La Hachadura, in Ahuachapán, will be the next ones to be established under an integrated model together with the Guatemalan authorities.
The integrated border point model unifies migration, customs, plant protection and security services in a single establishment. In this case, Hayem confirmed that Guatemalan collaborators will pass to the Salvadoran side.
The Ministry of Economy (Minec) said that integrated border points reduce the time and costs of carriers, mainly because the service is faster and no storage costs are incurred.
The governments of Guatemala and El Salvador held a meeting on 14 August to address and establish a road map in the search for progress on customs integration at the four border posts they both share.
The Guatemalan government revealed that progress in modernizing the infrastructure of the two countries was revised.The Minec expects that the integrated posts will be ready in a short period of time and hopes that, at the end of the year, there will be a “great level” of progress in the initiative.
The integrated borders are part of the customs union that Guatemala and Honduras began in 2017. A year later El Salvador joined and, in December 2023, El Amatillo, in La Unión, was the first to inaugurate under this model.
This project involves investment in infrastructure, as we have the great fortune to have the support of CAF to be able to make investments in our customs, Hayem said.
International trade
Guatemala is the second most important trading partner for El Salvador and the first at the Central American level. The Central Reserve Bank (BCR) reveals that $608.8 million in goods were exported in the first half and $761.2 million was imported.
According to the Guatemalan News Agency, 5 percent of trade between Guatemala and El Salvador pass through the Anguiatú post, about $3 billion.
Anguiatú also accounts for 16 per cent of all border operations that both countries drive, between imports, exports and transits.
This article has been translated after first appearing in Diario El Mundo