This Monday the opening of the 35th Plenary Assembly of the Business Council of Latin America (CEAL) was opened in Asunción, with the aim of promoting integration, as well as the economic and social development of the region. The event was attended by the head of state, Santiago Peña.
On the occasion, Santiago Llano Cavina, president of CEAL’s Paraguay Chapter stressed that for 35 years, with chapters in 18 countries and more than 350 members, CEAL has worked hard to strengthen ties between entrepreneurs and leaders of the region, promoting the integration and economic and social development of Latin America.
He mentioned that given the challenging global context, the region faces major challenges, but at the same time tremendous opportunities.
CEAL was convinced that Latin America has the full potential to meet these challenges and, above all, opportunities, not only to develop a much more relevant role on the global stage, but to generate many more development opportunities for populations.
He also made the point that achieving this goal requires strategic and firm collaboration between Governments and entrepreneurs, civil society and international organisations.
Agenda for the Development of Paraguay and the Region
Within the framework of the 35th Plenary Assembly of the Business Council of Latin America, organisers designed an agenda focused on fundamental issues for the development of Paraguay and the region.
Santiago Llano Cavina said that throughout this day they will address the public investments that will boost the country’s infrastructure and connectivity, in addition to analysing the investments of the future that will position Paraguay as a benchmark for sustainability and sustainable growth.
“We will also address challenges and opportunities that new globalisation brings with it, as well as the fundamental role of regional integration, especially through strategic projects that promote connectivity and economic and social development in Latin America,” he said.
The objective of these discussions and exchanges is to identify concrete solutions and actions that will enable Paraguay and the region to move towards a more competitive, inclusive and prosperous future.
In turn, Roberto Zamora, a resident of CEAL International, stressed the importance of joining forces to promote social projects, which must be one of the priorities for achieving more balanced societies, avoiding migration and loss of human resources.
Generating stable environments in favour of the population
For his part, the President of the Republic, Santiago Peña, said that Paraguay is abandoning an image that has persisted for a long time, and indicated that his Government was determined to make the country the centre of integration again.
He said that since he took office, he set himself the goal to build a great bridge – not physically, but one that can be in the collective imagination, for the purpose of uniting Paraguay, a country that, in his opinion, remains quite divided.
“If there is one thing we have tried to do over these 13 months is to have a more cohesive public sector, that works no longer as a watertight compartment but as a body that stretches in the same direction. We also point to a bridge that can link the public sector to the private sector”, he said.
The head of State stressed that work between the public and private sectors is essential to achieve as a society the great objectives that are achieved.
The president also spoke of the importance of positioning Paraguay in the international context. He argued that the visits he has made to virtually all the countries of South America and Central America have been with the desire for the country to play a leading role in the union of a much more united Latin America.
“The Assembly of CEOs arrives Paraguay at a very important moment, where we do not want to look to the right or the left, we want to look forward, to move forward as a country, as a region of the world and that better than to unite the public sector with the private sector so that from Paraguay, as a light beacon can illuminate a region that needs from stable and predictable environments for societies to progress.”
