International meeting of investors to be held in Caraballeda, Venezuela

With the attendance of around 200 private business leaders from Europe, North America, Asia and the Andean Group, a meeting will be held in Caraballeda, Venezuela, from November 20 to 22 to promote foreign investments in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.

The event is part of the Investment Promotion Program which CAF is promoting jointly with UNIDO, and the cooperation of the European Economic Community.

The objective of the meeting is to establish joint ventures and other forms of business association, working on projects previously identified in the member countries of the Andean Group and promoted in the industrialized countries.

Working groups will analyze 139 projects from the industrial, agro-industrial and tourism sectors with investment of approximately US$1 billion. Distribution by country is as follows:

	No. of projects	Investment (million US$)
Bolivia	20	83
Colombia	21	105
Ecuador	28	183
Peru	16	83
Venezuela	46	510
		964

The Andean countries have taken the necessary steps to generate the confidence that both local investors and investors from developed countries require, especially by adopting similar macroeconomic policies which include opening to foreign capital, tariff advantages and fiscal policies in line with the free market economy. The event is important because it will establish direct contacts between Andean businesses and their potential partners in the developed countries, which will have the opportunity to link their capital to very specific projects in the productive sectors of the five countries.