Colombia's President Iván Duque: Improving Regional Integration in the Americas

Speakers

• Iván Duque, President of Colombia
• Susan Segal, President and CEO, Americas Society/Council of the Americas

In a panel of the IV CEO Summit in Los Angeles, hosted by U.S. Chamber of Commerce and U.S. Department of State, President of Colombia Iván Duque sat down with AS/COA President and CEO Susan Segal to explore current and future business opportunities in his country and examples it's set for the region.

Segal opened the conversation asking the president, whose term ends this year, about climate change and what his administration has done when it comes to prioritizing the Amazon. Duque said that even though Colombia's global share of carbon emissions is small, the country has taken steps to be an example on climate policy in the region. Colombia has now one-third of its territory declared as a protected area, he explained. Talking about job generation and Colombia's orange economy, which "is bigger than the mining economy or bigger than the coffee economy," Duque highlighted the fact that investment in the audiovisual sector surpassed $380 million this year, "making Colombia the most competitive audiovisual market in Latin America."

Duque stressed that fighting misinformation is a priority to strengthening democracy in the region, saying that algorithm adulteration, polarization, and populism can produce "tremendous damage" and adding: "The social media companies have to make the ethical reflection as to whether they are really contributing to the essence of democracy, which is the right to choose based on sound information, not facts manipulation."