More than 140 European companies were present at the First European Investment Forum in Uruguay

The I Forum of European Investment in Uruguay brought together more than 600 participants, 140 European companies and 50 national and international speakers. The participants also held 180 business meetings. The event was held on June 21 and 22 at the Radisson Hotel and was organized by Uruguay XXI and the European Union.

More than 50 European companies supported the event together with the Eurochairs of the Mercosur countries and the European Binational Chambers. The opening of the activity was in charge of the head of the delegation of the European Union in Uruguay, Ambassador Juan Fernández Trigo, the undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, José Luis Cancela, and the Minister of Economy and Finance, Danilo Astori.

Astori said that in the last decade Uruguay doubled its investment rate, compared to the second half of the 20th century. He stressed that in order to achieve adequate levels of investment, institutional transformations were promoted, a new regime was applied to attract foreign investments and the balance of macroeconomic variables was promoted.

Uruguay is, according to studies of international organizations, in the first places in Latin America in terms of democracy, respect for the rule of law, transparency and education, indicators that support the reason why invest in this country, said the Chancellor interim, José Luis Cancela.

Fernández Trigo stressed that Uruguay is the second country in South America to attract investments. He also pointed out that 26% of foreign companies established in Uruguayan territory come from the European Union, a block that invests some 400,000 million euros in the Mercosur countries.

After the opening, the plenary session was held, which began with a panel composed of the president of the ASTUR Foundation and former Ibero-American general secretary, Enrique Iglesias, and the deputy head of the Latin America Unit of the General Trade Directorate of the European Commission, Lorella de la Cruz.

A presentation was also made by Douglas van den Berghe, considered one of the global leaders in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), location strategy and offshore strategies and investment incentives. In addition, representatives of international organizations, regional and local CEOs of European companies based in Uruguay, presidents of the Eurochairs of the region and representatives of regional investment and export promotion agencies also spoke.

The topics discussed were the relations between Latin America and the European Union, new trends in FDI and opportunities for Latin America, the business climate in the region, investment opportunities in Uruguay and Mercosur, the outlook for the European business sector in Mercosur and the strategies of the Mercosur Investment Promotion Agencies to attract European investment.

In the afternoon, parallel sessions were held on investment opportunities in agribusiness, energy, infrastructure and global services, led by the Minister of Livestock, Tabaré Aguerre, the Minister of Industry Carolina Cosse, the Transport Minister Víctor Rossi and the Undersecretary of Economy, Pablo Ferreri respectively. In each panel, companies installed in Uruguay shared their experiences. A session was also held on the tools and programs of the European Union to encourage investment and on financing opportunities in the local and international market for companies installed in Uruguay and the region. At the end of the parallel sessions, the guests of the Forum participated in a cocktail offered by the delegation of the European Union in Uruguay.

During the second day of the Forum, on June 22, 180 B2B business meetings were held between European and regional companies with local and international counterparts. In addition, the Eurocámaras, the National Logistics Institute (INALOG), the National Ports Administration (ANP) and 20 consultants were present in the livings and stands. A space was also organized to promote investments under the form of Public-Private Participation (PPP), made up of the Office of Planning and Budget (OPP), the National Development Corporation (CND), the Ministry of Economy and Finance ( MEF), and the National Administration of Public Education (ANEP)..

In the afternoon, two simultaneous circuits were organized for foreign visitors, one focused on services that included a visit to Aguada Park, Free Zone WTC, Zonamerica and Antel Data Center, and another in logistics and distribution in which the port was visited , airport, Science Park and Zonamerica.

In turn, Uruguay XXI organized a welcome cocktail for foreign guests on the night of Tuesday 20 at the Tango Museum La Cumparsita. During the meeting, the guests were able to tour the museum, taste the typical Uruguayan food and attend a tango show.

The European Union is a major investor in Uruguay. Capital flows and European direct investment in Uruguay show the growing interest generated by the country. UPM, Montes del Plata, Glencore, Sofitel, Bayer, Banco Santander, BBVA, Movistar, BASF, SKF, Siemens and Navios are some of the European companies installed in the country. In 2016, Uruguay's exports to the EU grew 5%. They show a growing trend since 2014, which in turn has allowed them to increase their participation as a destination block for Uruguayan external sales. While in 2014 almost 15% of exports went to the European bloc, in the last year this percentage grew to reach 19.2%. In the last decade, Uruguay has also positioned itself as the largest recipient of FDI in Latin America after Chile, and is the country with the highest levels of reinvestment.