Juan Monge, vice president of the Foundation for the Development of Guatemala (Fundesa) and president of the Enade organizing committee, stated that the country is beginning a new chapter in decision-making to become one of the best destinations in the world to invest. The above, as part of the conclusions shared during the event, at the end of which he called on all sectors.
In his final message, he assured that there are reasons to invest in Guatemala, not only because of its macroeconomic stability and because it has the best metropolis from the south of Mexico to Colombia, but also because the country’s intermediate cities are growing.
Monge acknowledged that there are still challenges to meet, such as the state of the infrastructure, but he stressed that the positive that has already been achieved must also be recognized.
He insisted that Guatemalan businessmen have always believed in the country. He recalled that, during the internal armed conflict, while foreign investors withdrew their capital, Guatemalans decided to stay and continue investing in this nation.
Guatemala opens the doors to entrepreneurs from around the world
Monge stated that the time has come to tell the world’s businessmen that Guatemala opens the doors to invest.
“Here we have something very important: our young people dream of their first job. They are young people who do not want promises, but realities, and are part of a growing middle class, with much to offer the world,” he remarked.
He explained that large consortia operate in Guatemala such as Yazaki, Tata, Nextil, among others, which are already established in the country. He added that Invest in Guatemala, the investment attraction agency, has facilitated their arrival.
“Behind each of these stories, from those who have believed in our country, there was someone who said: it’s worth taking a risk, it’s worth believing. That’s the nature of foreign direct investment,” he said.
Institutional modernization and reforms are urgently needed to attract investment
The Fundesa manager declared that Guatemala has many geographical and economic competitive advantages, a demographic dividend with trained young people and clear rules, better than in many other countries. He added that it is also necessary to improve processes, simplify them, modernize, strengthen institutions and improve infrastructure.
He stressed that, in terms of infrastructure, the Priority Road Infrastructure Law was approved, but that there are two initiatives in the Congress of the Republic that are key to attracting capital.
He referred to the reforms to the National Agency for Alliances for the Development of Economic Infrastructure (Anadie), in order to guarantee more public-private alliance projects, as did the Dominican Republic, a country that managed to advance in the modernization of part of its strategic and transportation infrastructure.
He also mentioned the National Port System Law, which will be an instrument to guarantee legal certainty for private investment in port terminals.
He asked President Bernardo Arévalo de León to exercise his leadership to unblock the bureaucracy and align the institutions.
“Guatemala cannot wait any longer. Only your decision can guarantee that the roads are built, maintained and operated efficiently, that the ports function and that the energy arrives on time. That is the work that will remain of your government and the strategic projects that you manage to inaugurate will be your legacy,” he reiterated.
He stressed that the conditions must be provided to implement the Priority Road Infrastructure Fund, which must be an urgency for the authorities, as well as the hiring of technical personnel.