President Iván Duque highlights an ambitious reform agenda as an incentive for foreign investment

The President of Colombia, Iván Duque, highlights an ambitious reform agenda as an incentive for foreign investment, during the inauguration at the CEOE of the 5th edition of the Colombia Investment Roadshow, the largest forum for the promoting Colombian investment abroad, focused on the European Union. Besides President Duque, the Vice-President and Chancellor of the Republic, Marta Lucía Ramírez; the Spanish Secretary of State for Trade, Xiana Méndez; the President of the CEOE, Antonio Garamendi; the President of ProColombia, Flavia Santoro; and the President of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, José Luis Bonet, opened this major event.

This edition was attended by senior Colombian Government officials, including the Vice-President and Chancellor of the Republic, Marta Lucía Ramírez and several of the country’s Ministers, covering various portfolios; representatives of large Colombian and European companies, and senior officials from multilateral organisations. Coinciding with the celebration of ProColombia’s 30th anniversary, this event is an excellent business platform for international and Colombian companies.

Reform agenda: energy transition and infrastructure

The President of Colombia, Iván Duque, said in his speech that Colombia is a resilient country, which decided to see an opportunity in the crisis caused by Covid-19. The country’s economy grew by 10.6% last year and is expected to grow by 5.8% in 2022 according to the IMF. “Our voice is increasingly being heard on the international stage on environmental matters, and we are implementing an ambitious agenda to become more competitive towards the goal of being a carbon neutral territory by mid-century,” he stressed. An unprecedented energy transition is taking place, Duque reported.

The Government is also modernising the transport infrastructure of 20 fourth-generation road projects and is driving the fifth generation of rail, river, port and airport projects. “The more than 36 billion dollars that Colombia has received in foreign direct investment since 2018 is a good example of the confidence entrepreneurs and investors place in the country,” he said. Moreover, he reported that Colombia has 17 trade agreements that give preferential access to more than 1.5 billion consumers, strategies such as “friendshoring” and “red carpet” are being implemented to assist investors at every stage of their arrival in the country, and there is also a modern free trade zone system to guarantee significant tax incentives, he explained. “Our country offers clear rules, institutional solidity, talent, development and it is an excellent gateway to Latin America,” he said.

The Vice-President and Chancellor of Colombia, Marta Lucía Ramírez, stressed the importance of the event, not only to strengthen investment and business between Colombia and Europe, but also specifically with Spain. “We must endeavour to secure together the democracy of the both countries, to strengthen the institutional framework and confidence of the business sector,” he said. Ramírez argued that the success of the economic recovery lies in the countries’ leadership and, now more than ever, this leadership must be effective to restore confidence and address the current challenges: the crisis generated by Covid 19; the shock of climate change, which must be tackled rigorously; and the situation resulting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

On the other hand, the Vice-President made special mention of the achievements of the government of Iván Duque, committing to free higher education, since there is no better guarantee for the future than quality education; gender equity, fostering the economic empowerment of women; increasing non-traditional exports, which have risen by 19.9% in the last two years; developing non-conventional renewable energies, which has increased considerably over the last four years; developing infrastructure; sustainability, seeking to reduce gas emissions by 51% by 2030; and promoting public-private partnerships, a key element in the current context; among other measures. “Colombia is in a state of constant progress,” said the Colombian Chancellor.

Spain and Colombia: strategic partners

“Spain has always been an ally of Colombia in its strategy of internationalisation Currently there are already more than 650 Spanish companies of all sizes operating in Colombia, across all sectors of the economy and generating more than 50,000 direct jobs and almost one million indirect jobs; which reveals our deep commitment to developing the country,” stressed the Secretary of State for Trade, Xiana Méndez, during the opening of the Colombia Investment Roadshow. “Spanish companies have been, are and will remain great allies in the transformation process in Colombia. All those who establish themselves in this country have a clear intention to remain permanently.” 

She also stressed that, in recent years, “Colombia has been consolidating its position as an international market and destination for foreign investment, especially Spanish investment, through trade agreements and significant regulatory reforms”; she highlighted, among other factors, the modernisation of the trade agreement with the EU and the signing of the new Agreement for the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments (APPRI) in September 2021 within the framework of the bilateral relationship between Spain and Colombia.

Colombia: quality and confidence for foreign investors

The President of the CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, stressed that Colombia is synonymous with growth and opportunities. It is the central axis of the Pacific Alliance and a preferential destination for Spanish investment, supported by measures focused on fostering it. The CEOE is the best stage for representing Colombia in Europe, said Garamendi; and he pointed out that it is the most welcoming country in the world in terms of the business climate. “Quality, confidence and connectivity are traits that define Colombia as an export platform with extensive advantages in the Andean Community, the Pacific Alliance, Mercosur and the United States,” he argued.

The CEOE’s relations with Colombia have been very intensive and fruitful, especially through our counterpart organisation there, ANDI, and with institutions such as ProColombia. Proof of the mutual commitment to collaboration is the recent launch of the Spain-Colombia Business Council, of which the Vice-President of the CEOE, Íñigo Fernández de Mesa, is a Co-President and the Director General of CEOE International, Narciso Casado, is Secretary. This collaboration is also reinforced by the work we do jointly within the Ibero-American Business Council-CEIB, he stressed; and, in fact, the first Ibero-American Business Meeting, organised by CEIB and SEGIB, was held at Cartagena de Indias in 2016. “Our teams are going to work hard, and are already doing so, on major questions, such as sustainable development, gender equality, the defence of legal certainty, training, social dialogue, digitalisation and innovation, among other areas,” he said.

Sectors of interest for Spanish investment

The President of ProColombia, Flavia Santoro, in turn, focused on key business opportunities in leading sectors in the country, such as infrastructure, energy, technology-based services, tourism and health. In this respect, Santoro stressed that Colombia offers investment opportunities of around 60 billion dollars in road infrastructure, 5.7 billion in airport expansion projects, 3.4 billion in the restoration of railway infrastructure, 1.6 billion in river infrastructure and 433 million in port infrastructure. In the field of energy transition, Santoro reported, Colombia is ranked as the third largest economy in the Americas in this area, ahead of Brazil and Chile. Moreover, he stressed, it offers incentives in renewable energy, including a 15-year 50% income tax deduction for investments in alternative sources.

From ProColombia, its president also stressed that, regarding technology-based services, the country represents about 17% of BPO sales in the region and is among the main sales points. Moreover, he said, it has a large and dynamic market for software and IT services. In the tourism sector, Santoro explained that Colombia is the most biodiverse country in the world per square metre, and the General Tourism Act passed in 2020 offers a reduced income tax for hotels, theme parks, agro-tourism, ecotourism or new docks, among other incentives. Finally, regarding the health sector, the President of ProColombia reported that 98% of the population is covered by the health system, which is among the highest figures in Latin America. Finally, Santoro invited those attending the meeting to take part in the Colombia Inside Out next week in New York, and the Colombia Investment Summit, which is due to be held at the end of October in Bogota.

The President of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, José Luis Bonet, said that Colombia is a priority country for the institution and highlighted the role of the bilateral Spanish-Colombian Business Committee, which, with the support of the Chamber of Commerce of Bogota, the Spanish Chamber maintains in collaboration with the Network of Colombian Chambers of Commerce - Confecámaras. “For us, to talk about Colombia is not only to talk about a sister country. Colombia is a strategic economic partner in Latin America with which we have an exceptional relationship. A country with which we share values and a common position on the international stage,” he said.

The more than 650 Spanish companies, both large and SMEs, in Colombia, Bonet pointed out, are the main pillar of our relations: their investments and their proven commitment to remaining there permanently have contributed to generating numerous alliances and public and private agreements. José Luis Bonet also mentioned some of the sectors that offer opportunities arising from driving the green transition, as well as others of interest, such as infrastructure, new technologies, the orange economy and tourism. “It is time to strengthen Spain’s and Europe’s alliances with Latin America, which are key to guaranteeing economic recovery and our shared prosperity,” concluded the President of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce.

Networking

During the event, projects will be presented in specific sectors, such as infrastructure, energy, technology, tourism, the orange economy and health, among others. In order to explore in greater depth the business opportunities that exist for European and Spanish companies in the Colombian market, interested businesspeople will also hold individual virtual meetings with Colombian companies and representatives of public-private bodies and governmental institutions, both national and regional.

Participants at the opening of the fifth edition of the ‘Colombia Investment Roadshow’