LATF Policy Document Launch & Seminar on Business Opportunities in Central America

Agenda:

8:30 - 9:00 am: Registration / Visit to SICA* (Central American Integration System) stand
9:00 - 9:15 am: Welcome address by Patrick Daly, Chairman, Latin America Trade Forum
9:15 - 9:30 am: Welcome and opening remarks by Mr Niall Burgess, Secretary General, Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade
9:30 - 9:45 am: Launch of the Latin America Trade Forum Policy Document
9:45 - 10:45 am: Discussion panel on Doing Business in SICA countries
Moderator: H.E. Ambassador Werner Romero, Embassy of El Salvador
Panellists:

H.E. Ambassador Sonja Hyland, Ambassador of Ireland to Mexico, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Cuba, Venezuela, Colombia and Peru. Based at the Embassy of Ireland in Mexico City

Owen Doyle, Head of Horticulture - University College Dublin

Louis O’Connor, Senior Consultant - Live and Invest Overseas

10:45 - 11:15 am: Inputs from SICA Heads of Mission

Ambassador of El Salvador, Werner Matías Romero

Ambassador of Guatemala, Acisclo Valladares

Ambassador of Honduras, Iván Romero

Ambassador of Nicaragua, Ricardo Alvarado

And also the following special SICA guests:

High Commissioner of Belize to the United Kingdom, Perla Perdomo

Charge d'Affairs of the Dominican Republic to Ireland, Katia McKenzie

Ambassador of Panama to the United Kingdom, Daniel Fabrega

11:15 - 11:30 am: Q&A

11:30 - 11:45 am: Closing remarks by H.E. Ambassador Wermer Romero, El Salvador’s Presidency; Pro Tempore of SICA

11:45 - 12:15 pm: Networking
To register for this event contact Ben Pincon
[email protected] or 01 642 4172
See SICA description below

Central America Integration System

The Central American Integration System (called SICA from its Spanish acronym – Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana), is the institutional framework of regional integration in Central America and has set among its objectives the establishment, not only of a free-trade zone, but also of a common market.
The SICA member states are Belize, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.
SICA represents a region rich in biodiversity that serves as a bridge for the Americas, with the Panama Canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans surrounding Latin America. SICA member states’ population is estimated at about 52.3 million people, with a combined GDP of US$417 billion in 2013.
In 2010, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama signed the European Union – Central America Association Agreement. The Dominican Republic and Belize have a similar trade legal framework within the Caribbean, the Economic Association Agreement between the European Union and CARIFORUM.
These agreements give preferential access and tariff eliminations to goods from EU and SICA countries, and create a framework for promotion of trade and investment links between the regions.