Washington conference analyzes trade and investment situation in the Americas

To continue stimulating debate on issues relevant to the Andean countries, the Organization of American States (OAS), Inter-American Dialogue and the Andean Development Corporation (CAF) today opened the VII Annual Conference on Trade and Investment in the Americas in Washington DC.

CAF Executive President Enrique García and US Senator Norman Coleman will open the two-day event, whose goals include deepening the analysis of relations between the region and the United States, in the political, economic, trade and energy areas.

This Annual Conference brings together ministers, academics and experts on the region, together with senior officials from international organizations and figures from the financial world of Wall Street.

Because of its high level, the event is an excellent occasion for reviewing current and structural issues in the areas of policy and sustainable development in Latin America. For the first time the conference will be held in the facilities of the US Congress, some of whose members will be taking part.

The sessions begin with an analysis of the political and economic situation in Latin America. The speakers are former Mexican Finance Minister José Angel Gurría; former Bolivian President Fernando Quiroga; Anoop Sing of the International Monetary Fund; with Peter Hakim of Inter-American Dialogue, as moderator.

In the evening a working dinner will be held in the Bolivian Embassy in Washington, with speeches by Inter-American Development Bank President Enrique Iglesias; US government representative Cal Dooley; and Bolivian ambassador in Washington Jaime Aparicio.

On Thursday, sessions begin with presentations by CAF Executive President Enrique García; OAS Secretary General César Gaviria; and US government representative Catherine Harris.

A discussion on Andean trade and economy will be held with a panel formed by Andean Community Secretary-General Guillermo Fernández de Soto; CAF Strategies and Development Vice President Fidel Jaramillo; Claudio Loser of Inter-American Dialogue, with Peter Hakim, as moderador.

The next event will be a debate on the situation in each Andean country, opening with a panel on Ecuador formed by Economy Minister Mauricio Pozo; Fernando Carrión of FLACSO; Augusto de la Torre of the World Bank; Ecuadorian Ambassador to the UN Raúl Gangotena, with Elena Martínez from UNDP as moderator.

The members of the panel on Bolivia are Sustainable Development Minister Erick Reyes Villa; former Bolivian Foreign Minister Gustavo Fernández Saavedra; Eduardo Gamarra of the University of Florida; Bolivian Senator Moira Paz Estensoro, with former US ambassador in La Paz Robert Gelbard as moderator.

At lunchtime there will be an open discussion with contributions by Peruvian Prime Minister Beatriz Merino, and Bernadette Anson, expert on the region and representative of Acon Investments.

The speakers in the panel on Peru are Felipe Ortiz de Cevallos from Apoyo S.A.; and Peruvian Ambassador to the UN Roberto Dañino. The moderator will be Michael Shiffer from Inter-American Dialogue.

The situation in Colombia will be debated in a panel formed by Defense Minister Martha Lucía Ramírez; former Finance Minister Rudolf Hommes; and Rodrigo Pardo, director of the Bogotá newspaper El Tiempo. The debate will be moderated by Fernando Cepeda Ulloa of the University of the Andes.

The conference ends with a reflection on the outlook for the region, chaired by CAF Executive President Enrique García, accompanied by Joaquín Villalobos of Oxford University.