Alem Tedeneke, Media Manager, World Economic Forum; Tel.: +1 646 204 9191, Email: ated@weforum.org
· After last year’s elections in North America and Europe, Latin America must focus on solidifying regional trade agreements
· But Peru’s Minister of Foreign Relations tells audience that the US is “not backing away from engagement with the region”
· For more information on the meeting: www.wef.ch/la17
Buenos Aires, Argentina, 6 April 2017 – Leaders at the World Economic Forum on Latin America agreed that “new global realities”, including votes in the United States and the United Kingdom, offered opportunities for the region to develop closer trade and political relations, both internally and with the rest of the world.
“When tectonic plates move you have two possibilities: you are either squeezed between them, or your opportunities open up,” said Susana Malcorra, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Argentina. “We need to be fast on our feet to ensure we are not squeezed, and seize the opportunities.”
The minister said that while Brazil has faced political challenges, she expected it to “open up” to the southern Mercosur trade bloc, and that together the regional grouping will be in discussions with the Pacific Alliance, whose members include Peru, Chile, Colombia and Mexico.
Ricardo Luna Mendoza, Minister of Foreign Relations of Peru, said that following recent talks between Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and US President Donald Trump in Washington, he felt the US was “not backing away from engagement with the region”.
But he added that Latin America should be careful “over the next two years as the United Kingdom negotiates its exit from the European Union”.
Panellists in the session also discussed how to address the wide dissatisfaction that led to last year’s political upheavals in the US and Europe.
“We need to address the concerns of those people who feel they have been left behind by globalization,” Hans-Paul Bürkner, Chairman, Boston Consulting Group, explained.
According to Malcorra, the best way to do this is to “allow people to retool themselves” and equip them with the technological skills in demand in the global economy.
James Z. Li, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, E. J. McKay & Co, added that workers employed in traditional industries, such as car manufacturing, “needed to fear” for their future.
“Free trade does create value, but for those who have been making cars, for example, do you think they can suddenly become IT professionals? That’s what is behind the US elections – people need jobs,” Li said.
More than 1,000 participants are taking part in the 12th World Economic Forum on Latin America in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 5 to 7 April 2017. The theme of the meeting is “Fostering Development and Entrepreneurship in the Fourth Industrial Revolution”.
The Co-Chairs of the World Economic on Latin America are: Asheesh Advani, President and Chief Executive Officer, JA Worldwide, USA; Hans-Paul Bürkner, Chairman, The Boston Consulting Group, USA; Patricia Espinosa Cantellano, Executive Secretary, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Germany; Alejandro P. Bulgheroni, Chairman Bridas Corporation, Argentina; Marcos Bulgheroni, Executive Director, Pan American Energy LLC, Argentina; and Eduardo S. Elsztain, Chairman, IRSA Inversiones y Representaciones, Argentina.
Notes to Editors
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