While Latin America is recovering from the global economic crisis and has made progress in addressing major social challenges and promoting democracy over the past decade, the region cannot afford to be complacent, global and regional business leaders concluded at the closing plenary session of the World Economic Forum on Latin America. Latin America has successfully weathered the crisis,” said Jorge Londoño Saldarriaga, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bancolombia and a Co-Chair of the meeting. “Not only are our economies in a particularly good place but our businesses are well managed.”

The World Economic Forum is pleased to announce that Marisol Argueta de Barillas has joined the Forum as Senior Director, Head of Latin America. Previously, she was Vice-President of Inter-Publix and Minister of Foreign Affairs of El Salvador. “We are pleased that Marisol will bring her political and business experience as well as her energy to the World Economic Forum’s engagement with Latin America,” said Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum. “She joins at a crucial time for the region with new stakeholders emerging and new challenges that can only be met with contributions from all relevant areas of society.”

Public-private partnerships are essential to push forward the reconstruction of Haiti and achieve the country’s sustainable recovery after the earthquake in January, business, government and civil society leaders said in a session on the final day of the World Economic Forum on Latin America. “The rehabilitation of Haiti has to do with governance and the creation of the rule of law,” said Leonel Fernández, President of the Dominican Republic. “For a country to be viable, it needs to have institutions, reliable leadership and a system for social investment. All this needs investment by the private sector.” 

Latin America should focus on deepening regional integration and improving the quality of education to address inequality, said presidents from five countries in the region – Colombia, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Panama and Paraguay – in a plenary session on the final day of the World Economic Forum on Latin America. “When our pineapples cross the border with Argentina to get to Chile, we have problems,” Paraguayan President Fernando Armindo Lugo Méndez acknowledged. “We have common roots. We all agree on strengthening our democratic institutions because what is at stake is our future. Integration is possible.”

Six social entrepreneurs have been recognized as Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2010 in Latin America during the Presidents Plenary session of the World Economic Forum on Latin America, held in Cartagena, Colombia, on 8 April. Suzana and Claudio Padua, founders of Instituto de Pesquisas Ecologicas, had previously been recognized as Social Entrepreneur of the Year Brazil. The other four winners are David Gaus from Ecuador, Vladimir Delagneau from Nicargua, and Joseph Philippe and Anne Hastings from Haiti. They received their awards in the presence of President Uribe from Colombia and President Martinelli from Panama.

Of Colombia’s 45 million people, 17% are under the age of 18 and most of these youths live in poverty. Sixty-six per cent of Colombian children under the age of six are poor. For Colombia to improve productivity, the country’s leaders must focus on health, education and development programmes for young people. To boost annual economic growth rates to the 5-6% range, Colombia should focus on five areas. These include a deficit in low-income housing; low productivity in much of the agricultural sector; the lack of four-lane highways and modern airports and port facilities; the need for more technological innovation; and an expansion of oil, natural gas and mineral exploration projects.