Latin America and the 2018 Davos Summit

The World Economic Forum, a non-profit organization based in Switzerland, organizes the prestigious annual summit in the city of Davos. Founded in 1971 by Klaus Schwab, a professor at the University of Geneva, the Davos Summit brings together political and economic leaders from around the world to discuss pressing global issues. Likewise, the Davos Summit has in the past served as a forum for dialogue and mediation amongst antagonizing political players. For instance, during the 1992 Forum, the then-South African President De Klerk met with political opponent Nelson Mandela and, during the 1994 Forum, the then-Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres met with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Latin America and the 2018 Davos Summit

For the 2018 Davos Summit, which will take place January 23-26, the declared theme is “Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World”, under the larger motto of the World Economic Forum, “Committed to Improving the State of the World”. This year’s agenda has already featured speeches and addresses by leaders such as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pope Francis, and Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde. Meanwhile, an address by US President Donald Trump is scheduled for Friday, January 26. Representing Latin America are several Presidents and Heads of State, including Colombian President and Nobel Laureate Juan Manuel Santos, who will participate in a panel titled “Achieving Sustainable Peace in a Fractured World”.

At Davos, in an exclusive interview with CNBC, President Santos talked about his last year as Colombia’s Head of State and reflected on the achievements of his administration. Evidently, his most important achievement has been the implementation of the Havana Peace Accords with the FARC guerilla, which has brought decades of armed conflict to an end and is already yielding economic dividends. Since the signing of the Peace Accords in 2016, tourism and foreign investment into Colombia have substantially increased, particularly within the food and agribusiness sector. Furthermore, about a third of Colombia’s vast territory that had been previously inaccessible due to the civil conflict has become available for agricultural development as well as industrial and mineral projects.

Moreover, agribusiness throughout Latin America in general is a booming industry given the region’s strong fundamentals and infrastructure, which allows for favorable access to North American, Western European, and Asia Pacific markets. Furthermore, the current wave of business friendly governments throughout the region and the favorable exchange rates before the next commodities boom represent a unique window of opportunity for international investors considering Latin American agribusiness. Moreover, investors into Latin American agribusiness should be looking for promising opportunities that allow for direct access into a well-integrated food and agriculture supply chain.

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