Five years of shared work and achievements

The work of Uruguay XXI is oriented towards strengthening the image of Uruguay in the world, consolidating an effective strategy to attract investments focused on priority sectors of the economy, and providing quality support for the internationalization of small and medium-sized goods and services companies in Uruguay. The main achievements of the five-year period are based on these axes.

During this period we had the opportunity to place Uruguay in unbeatable scenarios to show its competitive advantages: Expo Milan in 2015, the organization of the largest edition of the China Latin America Summit (ChinaLAC) in 2017, the European Investment Forums in Uruguay or the Expo Beijing in 2019. We say goodbye to the five-year period of work on the start of the project for Uruguay's participation in Expo Dubai 2020.

We want to recognize the value of working together with the private sector, ministries and organizations, and the articulation with embassies and diplomatic representations. The complementarity between us was key to obtaining excellent results in terms of international promotion.

Along these lines, we hope to deepen the Commercial Antennas project in which we are advancing together with the Foreign Affairs Ministry, managed within the framework of the National System of Productive Transformation and Competitiveness.

As regards the attraction of investments, we highlight two contributions of this management to the promotion of the country as an FDI destination: the sectoral approach to promotion and the establishment of the concept of investor care.

Since 2016, we have been working to focus on priority sectors of the economy: agrifood and forestry chain, infrastructure, energy, ICT, corporate services, pharmaceuticals and life sciences. The sectoral work involved the creation of a value proposal and strategies for each sector, the professionalization of specialists and the development of segmented promotional platforms and tools to make ourselves heard before our key audiences and markets.

There is ample evidence of the impact that FDI has on employment, exports and innovation. Therefore, taking care of and meeting the needs of already established companies has joined our purpose, leading to the creation of the After Care and Policy Advocacy area. Its role is to facilitate improvements in the regulatory framework, support processes and opportunities for reinvestment and minimize bureaucracy, mainly through the One-Stop Foreign Trade Window (VUCE).

We would also like to highlight the transformational drive in support of the export development of small and medium enterprises that has taken place in these years. They are the heart of our agency. Because they are decisive in the impact on the level of employment, for their potential in the diversification of the productive matrix and for the innovative development that they incorporate to their goods and services.

In this five-year period we have dedicated strong resources to competitive intelligence and have collaborated with new approaches to internationalization within the framework of the system's sectoral road maps.

We incorporate the creative and cultural industries to international promotion, access to specific support, training in export skills and participation in international events. The publishing, music and audiovisual sectors have joined the video game, software, furniture design and textile industries, along with architecture and engineering services. With enthusiasm and responsibility we celebrate this achievement for the growth of the so-called orange economy, whose raw material is nothing less than the talent, innovation and creativity of Uruguay.

At the management level, I highlight the development of a system of indicators to measure the impact and results of our work. This is an innovative system, a sign of good governance and a commitment to excellence, which contributes to the achievement of long-term institutional objectives with instruments of proven effectiveness.

Finally, we would like to dedicate our warmest recognition to the more than 1000 companies that today make up the community of companies that are partners of the country brand. They are our pride: they chose to reflect Uruguay's values in their brands and are brilliant ambassadors of the country in the world.

To them and to all the companies, national and foreign, partners, allies and addressees of the work of Uruguay XXI, our gratitude to their trust and their commitment to continue building together the best country to invest, work and live in.

See the Five-Year Report Uruguay XXI 2015-2019.