As part of the agreements reached during the meeting of the Presidents of Costa Rica, Panama and Dominican Republic for the Puerto Plata Summit and the Declaration of Puerto Plata on 11 December 2021, a High-Level Business Council (CEAN) is created among the private sector of the three countries. These three countries make up the Alliance for Development in Democracy.
According to a press release, the three-country agreement was signed by Enrique Egloff, president of the Chamber of Industries of Costa Rica and of the Latin American Industrialists Association; Rafael Zúñiga, manager of the Chamber of Commerce of Panama and Samuel Conde, business leader of the Dominican Republic and president of EDUCA, Acción Empresarial por la Educación.
The Puerto Plata Summit was the third meeting of the Presidents of Costa Rica, Panama and Dominican Republic that created the alliance after meeting for the first time for the September 2021 UN General Assembly.
It was agreed that the CEAN will serve as the primary vehicle for the private sector to draft recommendations and joint reports for presenting to their respective governments. The entity will then promote the carrying out of High-Level Economic Dialogues primarily with the United States.
“The effective integration of the business sector will contribute to the consolidation of this Alliance. Long-term joint initiatives in the area of opportunities generated by the reordering of global supply chains will be geared towards massive job creation and economic growth,” said Samuel Conde, business leader, president of EDUCA and representative of the Dominican Republic in this agreement.
For his part, Egloff, representative of Costa Rica, stated that “with this agreement a true public-private alliance is manifested, where the productive sectors of our countries will be an integral part of this Alliance to promote economic and social growth for our citizens.”
“This agreement will undoubtedly enable the region to take advantage of the opportunities brought about by the reordering of global supply chains, boosting trade development,” said Rafael Zúñiga, representative of Panama.
The framework agreement will allow the private sector to actively participate as an essential actor in the development of the various initiatives and projects that will result from this regional agenda.
The CEAN will be made up of businessmen from each member country of the Alliance and will seek the integration of representatives from the private business sector in the United States.
Likewise, the CEAN aims to strengthen democracy through the stability of public policies, institutionalism and transparency, based on collaboration, legal security, economic growth and job creation, with the support of academia.
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N Digital
Ministry of Foreign Relations
15 December 2021