05 April 2017
Información para la Prensa N°: 115/17
Today, Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra and the Head of Latin America at the World Economic Forum (WEF), Marisol Argueta de Barillas, officially announced the launch of the Forum in Latin America. Under the slogan “Advancing on the fourth industrial revolution towards an inclusive Latin America”, the Forum is being held in our country for the first time in recognition of the political and economic changes fostered by the Argentine Government since late 2015.
Malcorra underscored the importance of the contents and slogan of the Forum, given that “the Fourth Industrial Revolution is of a technological nature, and we believe it is at the core of the challenge the world is facing. Failure to fully understand it will lead to a wrong assessment and, worst of all, to wrong solutions.”
“The second component of the slogan is an inclusive Latin America, a continuation of the last Forum held in Medellín, Colombia, which President Macri attended and in which we also discussed inclusive development,” she added.
At the press conference held by the Argentine Foreign Minister and the Head of Latin America at the World Economic Forum in the Press Room of the Palacio San Martín this afternoon, the Argentine Foreign Minister stated: “We think it is very interesting to discuss these global issues from a regional perspective: the position adopted by the region, the impact exerted by other global factors on the region and its response, and of course the digital economy issue which, from our point of view, is the most disruptive factor, one that requires strong adaptation and transformation capabilities on our part.”
For her part, Argueta de Barillas highlighted: “It is the largest Latin American meeting ever held by the World Economic Forum. We have convened 1,200 leaders and a plethora of young people, women leaders, scholars, media leaders and businesspeople. 10 Latin American governments and 63 nationalities are represented, and I believe that we will hold fundamental discussions on a variety of issues.”
The meeting will continue until Friday at the Hilton hotel in Puerto Madero, where sessions and debates focusing on the current state of affairs in Latin America will be held.
The meeting is attended by world and regional leaders in economy, business and finance, as well as from the government and civil society, in order to exchange strategic ideas on how to tackle challenges and contribute to shape an inclusive future for Latin America.