ALADI ANNOUNCES FIRST LATIN AMERICAN MEETING ON COMMERCE

Montevideo, May 20 (PL)- A first Latin American trade and investment meeting, ExpoALADI, will be held here next year, jointly announced the Uruguayan government and the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI).

To promote this event and start a mutual cooperation, ALADI Secretary General, Carlos Alvarez, and the director of the Institute Uruguay XXI, Roberto Villamil signed an agreement.

The agreement involves a new edition of ExpoALADI in September 2014, calling on entrepreneurs to promote the exchange between them and the possibility of strengthening ties in productive chains.

This first major Latin American event, the organizers insisted, is an opportunity to promote intra-regional trade and investment.

Rounds of businesses, trade and investment, plus debates, workshops and seminars with participation of representatives from public and private sectors are part of the program, said Alvarez.

He added that the objective is to fill a gap, due to its unprecedented character in the region.

The official emphasized the need to involve small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Latin America to develop products with higher added value, taking advantage of good economic times going on in the region.

Uruguayan Deputy Foreign Minister Luis Porto said his country offered to host this meeting by its vocation as a builder of cooperation and integration.

The director of Uruguay XXI, meanwhile, stressed the importance of integrating SMEs in the region, and create a permanent event, to improve its process of internationalization.

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