Image
The Free Trade Agreement between Colombia and the United States will increase the country' s productivity and competitiveness, as well as new business opportunities for entrepreneurs.
Several attendees at the Corporate Summit of the Americas, an event which took place within the framework of the Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, pointed this out. Almost 600 entrepreneurs of the highest category participated.
Jaime Vallés, Vice President, Latin America, Cisco Systems, said his company " made the decision during the past few years to rank Colombia as a strategic country for investments, and this has been reaffirmed through the announcement of the Free Trade Agreement, which is very important. We are convinced that through technology, we can make Colombia a more competitive place."
On the other hand, Juan Fernández, President of Femsa, indicated that his company has an optimistic view of the Colombian aperture, and highlighted the quantity of entrepreneurs from " Latin America and the United States who are coming to ' discover' Colombia and leave with an impact and great determination to invest. Colombia is demonstrating its great capacity to grow."
During the Corporate Summit of the Americas, which took place at the Hilton Hotel in Cartagena, PROCOLOMBIA made information to available its attendees on the business opportunities offered by the country, not only for foreign investment, but also for non-traditional exports and international tourism toward the country.
The Free Trade Agreement will allow entrepreneurs from countries that don' t enjoy that benefit, to view Colombia as an investment destination to establish production plants that will allow them to export to new markets, with the benefits offered by trade agreements.
" There is a great opportunity, not only to serve the Colombian market, but also to export to the United States, which after Brazil, is our largest operation. Many jobs are created, more skilled jobs, and that is very important for the economy," said Marco Stefanini, CEO of Stefanini IT Solutions, which merged with a Colombian company one year ago.
Moises Naim, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace analyst, said the experience in other countries that have entered into Free Trade Agreements is that they " start off with trade, but end up with investments. One of the advantages investors find in these Agreements is that they provide more stability to the rules of the game."
Pedro Julio Uribe, Director of International Organizations for Latin America and the Caribbean for Microsoft, said that Colombia is a country with a " strong, democratic government with stable institutions, a large, creative and stable labor force" , whose doors are opened through the Free Trade Agreements to reach other markets.
