Trade, elections, misinformation and China will set agenda for 23rd CAF Conference

Volatility. This word best defines Latin America’s current political and economic environment due to internal and external factors impacting growth and social development. The 23rd CAF Annual Conference, to be held on September 4 and 5 at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., will be the ideal forum to propose alternatives and build consensus.  

The meeting convened by CAF—development bank of Latin America—, the Inter-American Dialogue, and the Organization of American States (OAS), will bring together 1,000 leaders from different sectors of the Americas, Europe and Asia, who will discuss trade, elections, misinformation, China and Venezuela, among other topics.

The 23rd CAF Annual Conference will feature leaders such as Thomas Shannon, former Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs (USA); Laura Chinchilla, former President of Costa Rica; Carla Hills, former representative of Commerce (USA); Marisa Bircher, Secretary of Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Production and Labor (Argentina); Admiral James G. Stavridis, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe; Alex Hao, partner of the firm JunHe; Martha Bárcena, Mexican ambassador to the United States; Luis Carranza, CAF executive president, and Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue, among others. They will discuss the main challenges facing the region on the global stage.

The core topics in the agenda for the September meeting include: How to rethink a trade agenda in the Americas; how to enhance China-Latin America relations beyond complementarity; political changes in the region with upcoming elections and new governments in Brazil and Mexico; social media, misinformation and changing politics in Latin America; and the future of Venezuela.