Panama City It hosted one of the most important meetings for the regional economic dialogue.
On January 28 and 29, 2026, it was held in Panama City el Latin America and the Caribbean International Economic Forum 2026, organized by CAF – Development Bank of Latin America and the CaribbeanThe event brought together authorities, business leaders, and strategic leaders to analyze the region's main challenges and promote actions aimed at for Growth, the competitiveness and economic integration.
This stage participated Araújo Ibarra, a firm specialized in international Business y business strategy, represented by its president Martin Gustavo Ibarra, the Director of International Promotion and Business Development Juliana Villegas and the Presidential Manager Juan Camilo Valdés.
Cooperation between Asia and Latin America, central focus of the agenda
During the morning of the second day of the forum, the firm's president spoke at a closed-door session on strengthening the Economic cooperation between Asia and Latin America and the CaribbeanIn this space, opportunities were analyzed for productive articulation between both regions, as well as the role of the trade facilitation mechanisms.
In his speech, Ibarra emphasized that in Latin America There are about 800 Free trade zone y Special Economic Zonesplatforms that allow international companies to optimize production processes, reduce logistics costs, and facilitate entry into global value chainsHe also noted that these tools are becoming increasingly important given the growth of nearshoring in the hemisphere.
Regional experiences in Special Economic Zones
In the afternoon session, Martín Ibarra participated in the round table “Special Economic Zones and productive development | Regional experiences”, a space for analysis on the role of the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) as public policy instruments to attract Your Strategic to strengthen the industrial base and promote foreign trade.
The panel addressed key elements for the design of effective EEZs, such as regulatory frameworks, Incentives, the infrastructure, the articulation with local productive ecosystems and the criteria of sustainability y GovernanceExperiences from countries in Latin America and from Europe, with an emphasis on the lessons learned about the factors that drive their success and the challenges they face as tools for the productive diversification and the regional development.
Alongside the president of Araújo IbarraJuan Carlos Elorza, Director of Technical and Sectoral Analysis, participated in CAFLaura López, CEO of PROCOMER (Costa Rica); Sonsoles García, president of the Association of Free Trade Zones of Ecuador and former Minister of Production, Foreign Trade, Investments and Fisheries of that country; and Martín Dovat, CEO of ZonamericaThe conversation was moderated by Yolanda Sandoval, Economics Editor of La Prensa.
High-level spaces for foreign trade
The presence of Araújo Ibarra This type of forum responds to the need to participate in scenarios where guidelines are defined. economic policy, investment strategies and trends of international tradeThese spaces facilitate the exchange of experiences between regions and contribute to broadening the conversation about instruments that strengthen the business competitiveness en Latin America and the Caribbean.
El International Economic Forum of Latin America and the Caribbean It thus consolidated itself as a strategic meeting point for dialogue on issues central to the region's economic future.
