Colombia: CAF and OAS held the Seminar

Intended for representatives of the private sector and parliamentarians of the Andean countries, the Seminar was a contribution by the CAF and the OAS to the reflection taking place in the countries on building the Internal Agenda. This instrument will permit maximum exploitation of the results of the various integration processes, and help mitigate the possible risks facing the productive sector of the countries and their regions.

The objective of the Seminar was to present the cases of Chile, Mexico and Costa Rica, countries that have accumulated extensive experience in this field, from which the Andean countries can learn important lessons. The speakers at the Seminar included Joaquín Vial, Economic Studies Manager with the BBVA in Chile. He has been senior researcher at Columbia University; Director of the Andean Competitiveness Project at Harvard University; member of the Steering Committee of the Center for Globalization and Sustainable Development. In the 1990s he held various positions in the Chilean Ministry of Finance. Mexico was represented by Francisco Fernández, Director of the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness, former coordinator of Advisors to Agribusiness in SAGARPA for the Under Secretary of Development. He was consultant to The Boston Consulting Group and Corporate Value Associates. Enrique Egloff took part for Costa Rica. He is currently president of CRAdvisory.com, vice president of the Costa Rican Property Development Council, associate of CINDE (Costa Rican Coalition of Development Initiatives), and member of the Regulatory Improvement Commission of the Costa Rican Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce. He is also consultant to UNCTAD, IBD and the World Bank.