THE REGIONAL BUSINESS SECTOR DISCUSSED

 

GOVERNANCE AND COMPETITIVENESS IN THE AMERICAS

 

 

  

On May 29 and 30, 2008, the City of Medellin, Republic of Colombia hosted the V Private Sector Forum of the Americas within the framework of the XXXVII General Assembly of the Organization of American States.

On this occasion, the central theme of the event was “Governance for Development and Competitiveness in the Americas: The Role of Public-Private Partnerships.”

The event counted on the presence of more than 400 business leaders, well-known figures from

the academic sector, and representatives of non-governmental agencies from all over America.

The V Forum had major effects across the continent and also served as an excellent opportunity to encourage the business community to contribute ideas for ongoing development in the continent. After two days of hard work, the business sector agreed on a series of proposals they considered of utmost priority for growth in the region. Such conclusions were the starting point for the development of a public-private action plan. In turn, the resulting document was submitted to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs gathered on occasion of OAS XXXVII Annual Assembly.

A number of university and business leaders have participated in this event. Among them, we can mentionJosé Miguel Insulza, OAS secretary general; Albert Ramdin, OAS assistant secretary general; Enrique Iglesias, secretary general for the Ibero-American Secretariat; Alan Rosling, Tata Sons executive director; Mario Cader Frech, vice-president of public affairs and corporate social responsibility for MTV; Joyce Chang, managing director and global director of the Research Group for Emerging Markets of JP Morgan; Robert Devlin from ECLAC; Emilio Lozoya, director

of the World Economic Forum on Latin America; Fernando Illanes de la Riva, president of the Business Council for Latin America; Carlos Ominami, senator from the Republic of Chile; Rodrigo Arboleda, director of development in Latin America and the Caribbean for the “One Laptop per child and per teacher” Program; Owen Arthur, former Prime Minister of Barbados; Germán Efremovich, Synergy Group CEO; and Manlio Fabio Beltrones, chair of the Mexican Senate. The leaders of the Colombian political, economic, and business sectors also showed their interest in the forum. The major leaders who attended this event include Fernando Araújo Perdomo, Colombian Minister

of Foreign Affairs; Luis Guillermo Plata, Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism; Raúl Cuero,Scientist and Inventor, winner of the NASA Technology Award; Luis Alberto Moreno, President of the Inter-American Development Bank; and David Bojanini, CEO of Suramericana de Inversiones.

Eugenio Marulanda Gómez, president of Confecámaras, led the Organizing Committee of the V OAS Private Sector Forum in Colombia. He laid the emphasis on the growing importance of the Forum at the regional level as a venue for debate and a quest for joint policies that combine the efforts of both the public and the private sectors.