Registration: 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.

Conference: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m....

Real InterContinental Hotel Costa Rica
San Jose 1856-1000
San José
Costa Rica
Live Broadcast

Live broadcast

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2013 Latin American Cities Conferences: San José

Members of the public and private sectors discussed five years of the CAFTA-DR trade accord.

Registration: 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.

Conference: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m....

Real InterContinental Hotel Costa Rica
San Jose 1856-1000
San José
Costa Rica
Live Broadcast

Live broadcast

Share

Overview

COSTA RICA: FIVE YEARS AFTER CAFTA-DR

On January 2009, Costa Rica implemented the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) with four Central American countries (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua), the Dominican Republic, and the United States. This pact is fostering regional integration and facilitating trade and investment among the seven countries of the agreement.

The CAFTA-DR zone is the third-largest export market for the United States in Latin America behind only Mexico and Brazil. In 2012 it was the fifteenth-largest U.S. export market in the world. Two-way trade in 2012 was $60.1 billion.

In the last five years Costa Rica’s GDP has grown an average of 3.2 percent, despite the effects of the international financial crisis.

In addition, CAFTA-DR opened up Costa Rica’s state monopolies in telecommunications and insurance. Since then, foreign direct investment has grown and the telecom and insurance markets have increased their competitiveness.

Americas Society/Council of the Americas held a conference in partnership with the World Bank and the Ministry of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica (COMEX), “Five years after CAFTA-DR.”

Speakers:

  • Luis Liberman, Vice President of Costa Rica
  • Anabel Gonzalez, Minister of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica
  • Randy Melzi, Senior Director, Public Policy Programs and Corporate Relations, Americas Society/Council of the Americas
  • Felipe Jaramillo, Director for Central America, Latin America & Caribbean Region, World Bank (Download his presentation)
  • Arturo Condo, President, INCAE Business School
  • Jeff Hornbeck, Associate Director, PATRI Inc.
  • Julio Lizano, President – Operations Director, Vitec Videocom Ltda.
  • Jaime Molina, President, Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations of the Private Sector (UCCAEP)
  • Muni Figueres, Ambassador of Costa Rica to the United States
  • Christopher Padilla, Vice President, Government Programs,  IBM Corporation
  • Alberto Trejos, Ex-Minister of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica
  • Jorge Abadía, CEO, Telefónica Costa Rica
  • Víctor García, Chief of Regulatory and Wholesale Services, CLARO
  • Ronald Jiménez, Vice President, Chamber of Information and Communication Technology (CAMTIC)
  • Rowland Espinosa, Vice Minister of Telecommunications, Ministry of Science, Technology and Telecommunications of Costa Rica
  • Alfredo Ramírez, Country Manager, Pan-American Life Insurance Costa Rica
  • Said Breedy, Associate, Insurance Practice, BLP Lawyers
  • Tomás Soley, Superintendent, General Superintendence of Insurance of Costa Rica
  • Ricardo Monge, Technical Secretary, Presidential Council for Competitiveness and Innovation of Costa Rica
  • Fernando Ocampo, Vice Minister of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica

Event Information: Guillermo Zubillaga | gzubillaga@as-coa.org | 1-212-277-8362
Sponsorship Opportunities: Ana Gilligan | agilligan@as-coa.org | 1-212-277-8364
COA Corporate Membership Information: Monica Vieira | mvieira@as-coa.org | 1-212-277-8344
Press Inquiries: Adriana La Rotta | alarotta@as-coa.org | 1-212-277-8384

In partnership with:
 

 

Agenda

Download a PDF of the agenda.

Baje la agenda en español.

Hotel Real Inter Continental

8:00 – 8:30 a.m.     Coffee and Registration

9:00 – 9:30 a.m.     Welcoming Remarks

  • Anabel González, Minister of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica
  • Ragnhild Melzi, Senior Director, Public Policy Programs and Corporate Relations, Council of the Americas (Keynote Speaker)

9:30 – 10:15 a.m.     Presentation on the World Bank Report: “CAFTA-DR to Five Years after Its Entry into Force in Costa Rica”

  • Felipe Jaramillo, Director of Central America, World Bank

10:15 – 10:45 a.m.    Coffee Break

10:45 – 12:00 p.m.    Panel I – CAFTA-DR’s Impact on Foreign Trade, Attracting Investment, and Business Development

  •  Arturo Condo, President, INCAE Business School
  • Jeff Hornbeck, Associate Director, PATRI Inc.
  • Julio Lizano, CEO, VITEC
  • Jaime Molina, President, Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations of the Private Sector
  • Muni Figueres, Ambassador of Costa Rica to the United States (Moderator)

12:00 – 1:15 p.m.    Lunch – Discussion on the Impact of CAFTA-DR to Five years after Its Entry into Force

  • Christopher Padilla, Vice President, Government Programs, IBM Corporation
  • Alberto Trejos, Ex-Minister of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica
  • Anabel González, Minister of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica (Moderator)

1:15 – 2: 30 p.m.     Panel II – Impact on the Country’s Competitiveness: The Opening of the Telecommunications Market

  • Jorge Abadía, CEO, Telefónica Costa Rica
  • Víctor García, Chief of Regulatory and Wholesale Services, CLARO
  • Ronald Jiménez, Vice President, Chamber of Information and Communication Technology
  • Rowland Espinoza, Vice Minister of Telecommunications, Ministry of Science, Technology and Telecommunications
  • Ricardo Monge, Technical Secretary, Presidential Council on Competitiveness (Moderator)

2:30 – 3:45 p.m.     Panel III – Impact on the Country’s Competitiveness: The Opening of the Insurance Market

  • Alfredo Ramírez, Country Manager, Pan American Life Costa Rica
  • Tomás Soley, Superintendent, General Superintendence on Insurance
  • Fernando Ocampo, Vice Minister of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica (Moderator)

3:45 – 4:00 p.m.     Closing Remarks

  • Luis Liberman, Vice President of Costa Rica

Speakers

Jorge Abadía
CEO, Telefónica Costa Rica

Jorge Abadía is the current CEO of Telefónica Costa Rica and has more than 20 years of experience in the telecommunications sector. While working at Telefónica, he played an active role in the company’s process of internationalization and the proposed acquisition of Bellsouth in...

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Said Breedy
Associate, Insurance Practice, BLP Lawyers

Said Breedy is an associate and co-founder of the insurance practice at BLP law firm. Before his current position, he founded and worked at ASSI Legal Consultants Insurance & Reinsurance from 2005 to 2008. Breedy actively participated in drafting proposals to create bills related...

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Laura Chinchilla Miranda
Former President of Costa Rica

Laura Chinchilla Miranda is the former president of Costa Rica (2010–2014) and the first woman to be elected President of her country. Previously, she served as the first vice president and minister of justice in the administration of Óscar Arias Sánchez from 2006 to 2010. Ms...

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Arturo Condo
President, INCAE Business School

Dr. Arturo Condo has been the president of the INCAE Business School since 2007. He is also the founding member of the Central American Initiative of the Private Sector (CAPSI) and associate member of Harvard’s Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness. As a part of the “Young...

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Rowland Espinoza
Vice Minister of Telecommunications, Costa Rica

Rowland Espinoza is the current vice minister of telecommunications at the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Telecommunications of Costa Rica. Previously, he was vice minister of revenue at the Ministry of Finance and has held other positions in government, including the...

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Muni Figueres
Ambassador of Costa Rica to the United States

Ambassador Muni Figueres was appointed ambassador of Costa Rica to the United States in September 2010. Figueres has extensive experience in the politics of trade policy and trade negotiations as instruments of development. Previously, Figueres was the external relations advisor...

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Víctor Manuel García
Chief of Regulatory and Wholesale Services, CLARO

Víctor Manuel García is the chief of regulatory and wholesale services for Claro Costa Rica. Prior to this position, García was the chief of regulation and interconnection for Claro Nicaragua from 2003-2011. He has also been a faculty member of Nicaragua’s National University of...

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Anabel González
Minister of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica

Anabel González is minister of foreign trade of the Republic of Costa Rica. Prior to her current position, she was senior consultant on trade and investment issues for the Inter-American Development Bank from 2009 to 2010. Prior to that, González served as director of the...

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Jeff Hornbeck
Associate Director, PATRI Inc.

Jeff Hornbeck is the associate director of Patri Inc., in the Washington, D.C. office. Previously, Hornbeck worked as a specialist in international trade and finance at the Congressional Research Service (CRS) for more than 25 years. In this position, he advised U.S. Congress...

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Ronald Jiménez
Vice President, Chamber of Information and Communication Technology

Ronald Jiménez is the vice president of the Chamber of Information and Communication Technologies (CAMTIC) and current president of the Costa Rican Association of Large Energy Consumers (ACOGRACE). He also founded and has been president of CODISA since 1991 and of the NAP of...

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Julio Lizano
CEO, VITEC

Julio Lizano is the current president and director of global operations for Vitec Videocom Limited, a British multinational. Under his leadership in this position, the company has made ​​significant achievements such as transferring high-level manufacturing operations in Germany...

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Ragnhild Melzi
Vice President, Americas Society/Council of the Americas

Ragnhild Melzi is Americas Society/Council of the Americas’ vice president of Public Policy Programs and Corporate Relations. She provides leadership for the organizations’ international programming, which attracts top government officials, global business leaders, and prominent...

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Jaime Molina
President, Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations of the Private Sector

Jaime Molina is president of the Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations of the Private Sector (UCCAEP). He has also been a member of the board of the Costa Rica Investment Promotion Agency (CINDE) since 2010. In addition, Molina was president of several organizations such...

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Ricardo Monge
Technical Secretary, Presidential Council for Competitiveness and Innovation of Costa Rica

Ricardo Monge is currently the technical secretary of the Presidential Council on Competitiveness and Innovation. He is also a researcher and professor at the Technological Institute of Costa Rica, and a research associate of the High Technology Advisory Committee (CAATEC...

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Fernando Ocampo
Vice Minister of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica

Fernando Ocampo is the vice minister of foreign trade of Costa Rica. In recent years, he served as chief of negotiations of free trade agreements between Costa Rica and China and Costa Rica and Singapore, as well as deputy for business matters in negotiating the Central...

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Christopher Padilla
Vice President, Government Programs, IBM Corporation

Christopher Padilla is the vice president of governmental programs of IBM Corporation. Padilla has vast experience in the government sector, in the U.S. Department of State, and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. From 2005 to 2006, he served as chief of staff and senior...

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Alfredo Ramírez
Country Manager, Pan American Life Costa Rica

Alfredo Ramírez is the general manager of Pan-American Life Insurance in Costa Rica. Previously, he was vice president of sales for Central America at Pan-American Life Insurance in Guatemala and general manager of the Overseas Financial Group in Venezuela.

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Tomás Soley
Superintendent, General Superintendence of Insurance of Costa Rica

Tomás Soley is the general insurance superintendent of the General Superintendent of Insurance of Costa Rica (SUGESE), an institution in which he served as a manager from 2008 to 2012. In April 2013, he was elected president of the Supervisors Association of Latin American...

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Alberto Trejos
Professor and Dean at INCAE Business School, Former Minister of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica

Alberto Trejos is a professor and dean at INCAE Business School and served as Costa Rica’s minister of foreign trade, and as chairman of CINDE (the Costa Rican Investment Board). Additionally, he is a director of South Africa’s Brenthurst Foundation, and the Arias Foundation for...

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