CAF participated in 1st Ibero-American Meeting on Business Convergence

The First Ibero-American Meeting of Business Convergence featured distinguished leaders from Uruguay’s and the international political and business sphere. This unprecedented event in Uruguay aimed to create a forum to discuss and analyze the most relevant issues to the development of the region's countries.

Some of the issues discussed included the demands for investment in Latin America, the prospects of the regional economy in the context of the international situation, targets and opportunities of Latin American trade and the technological revolution and its importance for the economy.

The representative of CAF—development bank of Latin America—in Uruguay, Germán Ríos, made reference to the reasons for investing in Latin America, recognizing the current strengths and weaknesses in this area. Among the positive issues, Ríos highlighted the good macroeconomics, sound financial systems and external strength of most countries in the region, which can help them grow.

He noted, however, that “Latin America is the most unequal region in the world” and highlighted the low quality of education, “which is vital to improve in order to attract more foreign direct investment.” 

“We need to make a great domestic effort because no Latin American country can be content with 2% growth rates. At this pace, we will not raise income levels or be able to combat other social problems,” he added.

Against this backdrop, the CAF representative mentioned several reforms that are essential to implement in the long-term in Latin America, mainly in infrastructure, education and innovation ecosystems. To accomplish them, he explained, “we need to be creative and find new mechanisms, not only to attract foreign investment but to finance the necessary public policies, while maintaining macroeconomic strength.”

Finally, Ríos delivered a message to small countries such as Uruguay, in which he recommended a smart international insertion, because it is vital to expand markets for their exports given their domestic market constraints.