ProCórdoba Agency successfully closed the First International Business Round "Central America 2016" that was held in the Events & Conventions Centre of Dinosaurio Mall, together with the Foreign Trade Chamber of Córdoba, the Federal Investment Council and the areas of International Trade of Santa Fe and Entre Ríos. The working meetings were attended by 90 companies of the Central Region of Argentina and 11 Operators from Guatemala, El Salvador and Panama. Around 235 business interviews were conducted.
In addition to the International Business Round, activities such as the round table meeting between provinces of the Central Region were carried out, through the commitment and coordination of the Foreign Trade areas of Entre Ríos, Santa Fe and Córdoba together with Argentine Commercial Attachés in Central America. It is important to say that this activity was the third reverse mission where it was worked with complementary sectors of the regional production. Moreover, the Public Procurement Workshop of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) and the Ministry of Health of El Salvador was held.
Roberto Rossotto, General Manager of ProCórdoba Agency said that they were satisfied with the meeting and said:
"It's the first international business round where a particular commercial region was invited. At our discretion, Central America is very important for the companies of Córdoba. It is a destination that has been visited by the companies of our province and during the last years, it has had some problems related to foreign trade. The intention is to take up the contact and participation. At the round, the demanding sectors are food, autoparts, medicine and medical equipment, machines and tools, among others. The local companies that are participating have had the opportunity to sell abroad. The companies that have not had that experience yet are able to export soon.”
Moreover, importers expressed their own perspectives after having participated in the meeting. María Guzman, representative of FooDMachine from Guatemala, said:
"We are a company that provides machinery for restaurants, butcher's, bakeries, coffee shops, among others. We've had interviews with very interesting companies that can contribute lots of benefits to our company. We must continue analyzing the proposals and the information that we are going to receive soon. We hope to do business.”
From Gourmac, Luisa Siekavizza said:
"We are specialized in raw material for food industry. We've found companies with great potential and we have contact with them to arrange details and make trade effective.”
From El Salvador, the representative of Cemcol, Ronald Simons said:
"We've found high quality high quality suppliers and good price. Argentina must overcome its logistics challenges and delivery time of the products. These rounds are a great opportunity to know and contact the company.”
Moreover, a round table meeting was held between Provinces of the Central Region and Argentine Commercial Attachés in Central America: Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Panama. At the meeting, the President of ProCórdoba Agency, Jorge Marcotegui, the Undersecretary of Trade Promotion and Investment development, Minister Marcelo Lucco, together with the Director of Investor Services, Minister Rafael González Alemán both belonging to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship, were present.
The Minister of the Embassy of the Argentina in Costa Rica, Martín Recondo, gave his opinion about this meeting:
"This was an initiative by ProCórdoba together with the Foreign Trade Chamber of Córdoba, the Federal Investment Council and the provincial government. The goal is to reactivate exports in Argentina, especially in Central America. We understand that visiting the province and telling them about the Costa Rican market is a way of sparking their interest in visiting the country in order for them to take advantage of the services we provide. We congratulate ProCórdoba Agency for the work and effort to conduct this meeting.”
The Area of Cooperation and International Relations of ProCórdoba Agency organized the Public Procurement Workshop: the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) and the Ministry of Health of El Salvador.
Lourdes Fú, representative of CABEI, told us about her experience after her participation:
"This workshop is innovative. Thanks to this initiative, we are going to be able to help and guide companies to participate in tenders. What we do is to strengthen the capabilities of the executing agencies that make tenders. In this opportunity, we are on the opposite site, which is also very important. Companies must know what and how to present; for this reason, we are here and entirely at your service.”
The International Business Round "Central America 2016” had the logistics and coordination of the Area of Trade Promotion and the area of Cooperation and International Relations of ProCórdoba, together with the Foreign Trade Chamber of Córdoba and the Federal Investment Council.
