Sustainable coffee farming in Central America (sponsored by ECOM)

Do you fancy a nice, strong coffee? Do you have sustainability at heart? Here’s a YouTube video featuring passionate coffee producers who care about their sensitive environment.

The company of LATCAM’s President Ramon Esteve, ECOM, a leading Swiss trader in coffee, cocoa and cotton, sponsored the video, which we hope you will enjoy.

To watch the YouTube video, click on the following LINK.

Latin American leaders speak at the WEF’s 2021 “virtual Davos”

To watch the opening of the 2021 “virtual Davos” and get a glimpse of the whole program, click on this LINK.

Subsequently, we are highlighting only the sessions, in which Latin American leaders are participating, and posting the links to the recordings day by day. Here you can see the public part of the sessions. If you wish to see the entire sessions including Q&A, you may have to register with TopLink on the WEF’s website https://www.weforum.org (Sign-in).

 

January 25 

Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, Secretary General of ECLAC/CEPAL, speaks on the panel of Unlocking Social Entrepreneurship for the Recovery.

 

 

 

 

 

To watch the session, click on this  LINK.

 

January 26

Carlos Brito, Chairman of Anheuser-Busch Inbev, speaks on the panel of Designing Connected and Sustainable Value Chains (Option 2).

 

 

 

 

 

To watch the session, click on this LINK.

 

João Doria, Governor of the State of São Paulo, and Juan José Pocaterra, CEO and Co-Founder of ViKua, Member of the Board of the Young Entrepreneurs Association of Venezuela, speak on the panel of Rethinking Cities for a post-COVID Future (Option 2).

 

To watch the session, click on this LINK.

 

January 27

Tereza Cristina Corrêa da Costa Dias, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply of Brazil, speaks on the panel of Unlocking Innovation to Transform Food Systems.

 

 

 

 

 

To watch the session, click on this LINK.

 

Diego Mesa, Minister of Mining and Energy of Colombia, speaks on the panel of Accelerating Clean Energy Transitions.

 

 

 

 

 

To watch the session, click on this LINK.

 

Marisol Argueta de Barillas, Head of Latin America and Member of the Executive Committee of the WEF, Mauricio Claver-Carone, President of the IDB/BID, Ivan Duque, President of Colombia, Hamilton Mourão, Vice-President of Brazil, Maria Alexandra Moreira López, former Minister of Environment and Water of Bolivia, speak on the panel of Financing the Amazon’s Transition to a Sustainable Bioeconomy.

 

 

 

 

 

To watch the session, click on this LINK.

 

María Carolina Schmidt Zaldívar, Minister of Environment of Chile, speaks on the panel of Paving the Way to COP26: Mission Possible Partnership.

To watch the session, click on this LINK.

 

Carlos Alvarado Quesada, President of Costa Rica, speaks on the panel of Transforming Food Systems and Land Use (Option 2).

 

 

 

 

 

To watch the session, click on this LINK.

 

Carlos Manuel Rodríguez Echandi, Minister of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica, Roberto de Oliveira Marques, CEO and Executive Chairman of the Board, Natura & Co., speak on the panel of Building a Net-Zero, Nature Positive Economy (Option 2).

To watch the session, click on this LINK.

 

January 28

Carlos María Correa, Director of the Center of Interdisciplinery Studies on Industrial Property and Economics, University of Buenos Aires, speaks on the panel of Resetting the Business of Data and AI in Healthcare (Option 1).

To watch the session, click on this LINK.

 

Angel Gurría, Secretary General of the OECD, speaks on the panel of Skilling the Global Workforce.

To watch the session, click on this LINK.

 

Ivan Duque, President of Colombia, speaks on the panel of Harnessing the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Option 2).

To watch the session, click on this LINK.

 

Luis Felipe de Oliveira, Director General of Airports Council International (ACI), speaks on the panel of Restoring Cross-Border Mobility (Option 2).

To watch the session, click on this LINK.

 

Special Address by Alberto Fernández, President of Argentina.

To watch the session, click on this LINK.

 

Patricia Espinosa Cantellano, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, Head of the UN Secretariat for the Climate Convention, María Carolina Schmidt Zaldívar, Minister of Environment of Chile, Gonzalo Múñoz, Founder of TriCiclos and Climate Champion, speak on the panel of Mobilizing Climate Action for COP26.

To watch the session, click on this LINK.

 

January 29

Ernesto Araújo, Foreign Minister of Brazil, speaks on the panel of Resetting Geopolitics (Option2).

To watch the session, click on this LINK.

 

Rodrigo Yáñez, Director General of International Economic Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile, speaks on the panel of Accelerating Digital Trade.

To watch the session, click on this LINK.

 

 

Video meeting LATCAM – Swiss Panamanian Chamber of Commerce (January 20, 2021)

The Road To Future Cooperation

   

LATCAM had the great pleasure to offer its Board members, for the second time, the opportunity for a productive virtual exchange with their peers of one of the bilateral Chambers of Commerce. Our discussion with the Board members of the Swiss-Panamanian Chamber of Commerce (SPCC) began with a welcome address by H.E. Gabriele Derighetti, Ambassador of Switzerland to Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Panama, who expressed his appreciation for the dynamism and commitment of SPCC’s team to solidarity, sustainability, simplicity and openness to suggestions. His remarks were followed by introductory statements of Dr. Philippe Nell, Honorary Ambassador of LATCAM who emphasized LATCAM’s dedication to generate added value for its members, and Andreas Eggenberg, President of SPCC who pointed out the major focus on the sectors health, well-being, financial services and infrastructure as well as the overall commitment to sustainability and education. The above statements were followed by a productive discussion and concluding statements by Dr. Philippe Nell as well as concrete steps to follow up on this first video meeting.

On LATCAM side, the participants included Linda Walker von Graffenried, Walker von Graffenried Asset Management, LATCAM Vice President; Tatjana Gaspar, LATCAM Managing Director; Manfred Elbling, Zurich Insurance, LATCAM Treasurer; Carlos Represas, Bombardier (former Nestlé), LATCAM Board Member; Philippe G. Nell, LATCAM Honorary Ambassador; Thomas Foerst, Switzerland Global Enterprise; Markus Poelzl, Bühler Group, LATCAM Board Member; Richard Bauer, Senior Media Consultant, Better Gold Initiative (former NZZ journalist); Atilano Bullos and Gabriel Urdaneta, both representing our Board member Mercantilbank Schweiz AG; and Kevin Kienast, State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO, Bern.

On SPCC side, the participants included H.E. Gabriele Derighetti, Ambassador of Switzerland to Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Panama, SPCC Honorary President; Andreas Eggenberg, FUNDES, SPCC President; Elena Nathani Badrutt, SPCC Executive Director; Julio Vargas, SPCC Treasurer; Ysabella Castro, Roche, SPCC Counsellor; Stefan Zosso, RAENCO, SPCC Vice President; Christian Monsch, SPCC Counsellor; Geraldine Petterson, Honorary Consul of Switzerland; Jessica Julio, Nescens, SPCC Counsellor; Rita Duca, Deputy Chief of Mission and First Secretary, Swiss Embassy in Costa Rica; and Peter Baudenbacher, SPCC Counsellor, Nestlé.

 

 

 

 

A contribution from LATCAM member SERV: support of the Swiss exporters in times of COVID-19

Our corporate member SERV (Schweizerische Exportrisikoversicherung) supports Swiss exporters in times of COVID-19. To read in German, French or English, please click on the respective links:

Deutsch     Français     English

 

Online Event on Investment in Brazilian Infrastructure (by Itamaraty and APEX), July 28, 2020

Online Event on Investment in Brazilian Infrastructure by the Ministry of Foreign Relations of Brazil and the Brazilian Foreign Investment Promotion Agency APEX (in Portuguese with translation into English)

For more information, please click on the following LINK

Interview by Forbes Bolivia with Dr. Augusto López-Claros

Dr Augusto López-Claros speaks about the new world order in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic and social consequences.

To watch and listen to the interview in Spanish, which was posted on Facebook, please click on this LINK

Video Meeting LATCAM – Swiss Argentine Chamber of Commerce

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every cloud has a silver lining – or – No hay mal que por bien no venga!

Extraordinary, corona-induced circumstances prompted us to put together the first bilateral video meeting between two Chambers of Commerce.

Board Members of the The Latin American Chamber of Commerce in Switzerland met with Board Members of the Swiss-Argentine Chamber of Commerce in a bilingual (E/S) videoconference aiming at discussing how both countries cope with the new reality surrounding COVID-19. The video meeting was also attended by H.E. Heinrich Schellenberg, Ambassador of Switzerland to Argentina, with a special address to participants. The Presidents of both our Chambers, Ernesto Kohen (Grupo Chronex) and Ramon Esteve (ECOM Agroindustrial Ltd.), emphasized the importance and value of a strong and productive bilateral cooperation going forward. The main focus of the meeting was on assessing the current situation both in Argentina and Switzerland with the serious economic fall-out due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainty with regard to the future.

Participants from Argentina included Rodolfo Dietl (Leonhardt & Dietl Abogados), Fabián von Brocke and Alfredo Rodríguez (Just Int’l Latin America), Eduardo Maclean (Rolex Argentina), Fernando Bekes (Firmenich Argentina), Héctor Pourtale and Gian Andri Bivetti (Roche Argentina), Leandro Bel (Nestlé Argentina), Alberto Lisdero (Estudio Lisdero Abogados), Jorge Fassbind (Secretario CCSA) and Cecilia Dibárbora (Manager CCSA). Participants from Switzerland included Linda Walker von Graffenried (Walker von Graffenried Asset Management), Manfred A. Ebling (Zurich Insurance), Sarah Höhener (Bank Julius Baer), Matthias Musch (UBS), Dr. Philippe G. Nell (Honorary Ambassador of LATCAM), Tatjana Gaspar (Managing Director of LATCAM) as well as Martina Bietenhader (Switzerland Global Enterprise).

To read the remarks made by Dr. Philippe Nell, Honorary Ambassador of LATCAM, on how Switzerland has so far been coping with the consequences of COVID-19, please click on the following LINK

The IDB Group in response to COVID-19 (coronavirus)

The IDB (Inter-American Development Bank) publishes daily updates on the coronavirus situation in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Link

Latin America featured in the official program of the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos 2020

Strategic Outlook: Latin America (Tuesday January 21, 2020)

Latin America’s governments have faced a number of domestic pressures in recent years, including humanitarian, political and geo-economic, which have led to an economic slowdown in the region.
A bumper set of panellists debated how leaders in Latin American countries can establish cohesion across the region and build a sustainable, prosperous and secure future.
The panellists were Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, Executive Secretary for the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Paulo Guedes, Minister of Economy, Brazil, Angel Gurría, Secretary General, OECD, Lenin Moreno Garcés, President of Equador, Guillermo Nielson, Special Envoy of the Government of Argentina and, Graciela Márquez Colín, Minister of Economy, Mexico.
In 2019, eight Latin American countries changed leadership against a background of economic challenges and issues with inequality. The region achieved just 0.1% growth with 1.6% predicted in 2020 by the IMF.
The panel is united in agreeing that the region faces significant challenges – some common across borders and others country-specific. Neilson explained that Argentina is focused on two key areas this year: debt restructuring and launching a programme to promote growth.
He summed up the situation in simple terms: “In order to foot the bill [of our debt] we need to grow.”
Guedes answered the challenge from Ibarra that Brazil has not been growing enough by saying: “For many decades Brazil was the fastest growing economy – above China. Somehow we lost our way.”
Part of the reason, Guedes explained, is that Brazil has been spending above its means with inflation running wild. After 40 years of mismanagement, he believes that his government has started to tackle some of the overspending – areas such as social security and debt interest – and they are seeing a slow and steady recovery.
In Mexico, the country has the world’s lowest minimum wage. Márquez Colín said that her country is committed to improvement with tight controls on inflation and paying back public debt, suggesting that the “macro stability looks fine”.
She argued that the minimum wage has increased in each of the last two years and there is a commitment to offer better paid jobs in the future. They are also looking to tackle inequality, particularly in the south of the country, through large infrastructure projects.
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One Trillion Trees – a global initiative is launched (Wednesday, January 22, 2020)

The World Economic Forum launches a global initiative to grow, restore and conserve 1 trillion trees around the world – in a bid to restore biodiversity and help fight climate change.

President Ivan Duque of Colombia, one of the panelists in the press conference, said: “The big challenge of our time is climate change and we will not be successful on climate change if we don’t defeat deforestation.” Colombia aims to plant 180 million trees by August 2022, he said.

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Securing a Sustainable Future for the Amazon (Wednesday, January 22, 2020)

The number of fires in the Amazon rainforest grew in 2019 were up 30.5% from the previous year, and raised global awareness of the importance of the region for the world’s biodiversity and the climate. What is the best path for the people and the Amazon and their environment?
Ivan Duque, President of Colombia, will discuss the future with Brazilian scientist Carlos Afonso Nobre, former US Vice-President Al Gore and naturalist Jane Goodall. The moderator is BBC broadcaster Mishal Husain.
Read: How green investment will help Latin America and the world fight climate change
Tipping points
ICYMI: earlier today: One trillion trees – World Economic Forum launches plan to help nature and the climate
Carlos Afonso Nobre said that in the southern Amazon, deforestation was happening at such a rate that it could hit a ‘tipping point’ where the forest could not sustain itself.
“If this tipping point is exceeded, 50-60 percent of the Amazon forest will turn into dry savanna.”
Ivan Duque has a big stake in the future of the Amazon : 35% of his country, Colombia, is in it. His government aims to plant 180 million trees by 2022.
“It’s not widely understood that the soils in most of the Amazon are very thin – the richness is in the canopy,” said Al Gore.
“So when poor people clear the land and think they will have crops year after year it’s a false hope and not a sustainable answer to poverty.”
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Special Address by Juan Guaidó on Venezuela (Thursday, January 23, 2020)

Juan Guaidó gives a special addresss to Davos 2020, at a decisive time in Venezuela’s history.

Guaidó is the President of the National Assembly of Venezuela and recognized by more than 50 countries as Interim President of Venezuela.

What are the next steps for the country?

Reuters sums up his position: “Last January, Guaidó invoked the constitution as head of congress and declared Maduro an usurper. But a year on Maduro remains in power, despite a U.S. campaign to cut off his government’s sources of financing by imposing sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector, and Guaidó’s attempts to encourage the military to rebel.”

Guaidó defied a travel ban to leave Venezuela on Sunday and has since met with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and addressed the European Parliament.

He says he plans to return to Venezuela, but it will be risky.

“This a real opportunity to talk to you, the world’s leaders, to bring the voice of Venezuelan people to say we stand steadfast,” Guaidó said.

“More people have left the country than have have left Syria, but we are not a country at war, there are no bombs, but we do feel the weeping of our people.”” Guaidó said.

“On behalf of Venezuela, on behalf of those children … who perhaps have no hope today, we have to make sure we act.”

Guaidó said his demand was simple: a free and fair election. “What we want is a free Venezuela, a democratic Venezuela which respects human rights, where you can invest, where we can also make the most of our oil reserves, so that we can really unleash the potential that we have, if we can rebuild our region, consolidate a democratic system which would serve its people so that we can stop this disaster.”

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For more information on the numerous sessions and contributors at the Annual Meeting in Davos, go to the WEF’s official homepage: https://www.weforum.org

A view of Latin America by one of the top opinion leaders, Augusto López Claros

Augusto López Claros is one of the top opinion leaders from Latin America. The international economist, speaker and author of numerous books has over 30 years of experience in senior positions at various international organizations, including the International Monetary Fund, the World Economic Forum and, most recently, the World Bank.

Read his latest Blog:

http://augustolopez-claros.blogspot.com/