Upcoming business forum to strengthen ties between Asia and Latin America

This December, Panama will further strengthen its position as the point of contact between Asia and Latin America during the 13th China-LAC Business Congress, which will take place Dec. 9-11 at Panama City’s Atlapa Convention Center.

Created to foster the economic and commercial cooperation between both regions, the business conclave is expected to attract over 2,000 businessmen from China, Latin America, and the Caribbean. It is organized by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), the China Chamber of International Commerce (CCOIC), and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), in a strategic alliance with Panama’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MICI), the Panama Tourism Authority (ATP), and the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture of Panama (CCIAP).

“Panama offers the ideal environment to conduct business in the region due to its political and economic stability. Likewise, the country’s geographic position allows operations to be carried out through our multimodal logistics platform, which facilitates access to new markets, just as it consolidates our position as the gateway to the Americas for businesspeople from other latitudes,” said Gabriel Barletta, president of China-LAC Panama’s organizing committee.

On his part, Pierre Leignadier, acting president of CCIAP, added, “China LAC represents an excellent opportunity for Panama to affirm its position as the Great Connection to Latin America, offering its logistics and service platform as a headquarters for aggregate-value Chinese industries and a distribution center for the region, in addition to the point of entry Latin American exporters can use to enter into the Asian market.”

The event, which calls for the participation of top government officials, academics, and representatives of international organizations and financial entities, will feature a 5,000 square-meter exhibit allowing countries and companies to showcase their products and contact potential clients and commercial partners.

Activities planned for Monday, Dec. 9 will be exclusively reserved for China LAC exhibitors from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and will include a business “Macro-round” from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. On Tuesday, December 10, the fair will take place between 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. From 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. there will be a series of plenary sessions with topics such as “Opportunities and Challenges in the collaboration between China and the Lac region within the framework of the Belt and Road initiative;” LAC as a regional hub for globally-oriented Chinese companies, Finances & infrastructure, and Investing in Panama, among others.