La Comisión Europea, CAF -banco de desarrollo de América Latina y el Caribe- y el Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID) organizarán en conjunto una Rueda de Negocios en Bruselas antes de la Cumbre de Jefes de Estado y de Gobierno UE-CELAC.
El evento consiste en una sesión de apertura, siete mesas redondas temáticas y comentarios finales. Además, los coorganizadores facilitarán reuniones bilaterales junto con el programa para garantizar un diálogo productivo.
La Mesa Redonda Empresarial UE-ALC reunirá a líderes políticos, directores ejecutivos de empresas, directores de instituciones financieras de desarrollo y asociaciones industriales para revisar los aspectos clave de la Agenda de Inversión del Portal Global. Los participantes explorarán oportunidades de inversión en energía renovable e hidrógeno verde, materias primas críticas, descarbonización y proyectos de infraestructura de transporte, 5G y conectividad de último kilómetro, digitalización para servicios públicos y finanzas sostenibles y bonos verdes.
Las mesas redondas también presentarán una mirada de cerca a las barreras a las inversiones y los marcos regulatorios, así como una visión intersectorial desde la perspectiva de la educación y las habilidades, la creación de empleo, las cadenas de valor, el impacto social y las desigualdades, y la formación profesional.

Sobre la relación entre la UE y América Latina y el Caribe
La UE y América Latina y el Caribe tienen fuertes lazos comerciales y de inversión. La UE ha concluido acuerdos de asociación, libre comercio o cooperación política con 27 de los 33 países de la región y es la mayor fuente de inversión extranjera directa en América Latina y el Caribe, con un total del 45% de las entradas de IED de la región durante 2015-2019 y el 36% en 2021.
El comercio bilateral entre las dos regiones creció un 18% entre 2008 y 2021. Las exportaciones de la UE a América Latina y el Caribe promediaron € 116 mil millones en la última década, el 2% de sus exportaciones globales, mientras que las exportaciones de la región a la UE promediaron € 98 mil millones en el mismo período, alrededor del 10% de las exportaciones mundiales de la región. A pesar de estas cifras, la mayor parte del crecimiento comercial reciente se concentró en el período 2008-2013 y en México, Ecuador y Perú, mientras que el comercio de otros países se estancó o cayó.
Las mesas
PARALLEL ROUND TABLE 1
Energy Transition: Sustainable Solutions for All
Main Room: Schuman (Listening Room – Salle Cinema)
How can the private sector contribute to advance the fair and green energy transition in the EU and LAC?
Introductory Remarks: Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President, European Commission
Panellists:
- Paolo Scaroni, Chairman, ENEL (Italy)
- Elbia Gannoum, CEO, ABEEólica (Brazil)
- Mario Ruiz Tagle, CEO Spain, Iberdrola (Spain)
- Philip Julien, Chairman, Kenesjay Green Limited (Trinidad and Tobago)
- Tim Oliver Holt, Member of the Executive Board, Siemens Energy AG (Germany)
- Antonio Pinheiro Silveira, Manager of Infrastructure and Digital Transformation, CAF
Facilitator: Rodrigo Madrazo García de Lomana, CEO, EDFI Management Company
PARALLEL ROUND TABLE 2
Sustainable and Inclusive Economic Integration: Opportunities for Growth
Main Room: Hallstein (Listening Room – Jean Rey)
Opportunities for growth driven by responsible trade and investment with a special focus on the integration of the Amazonian region.
Panellists:
• Fredrik Persson, President, Business Europe
• Carlos Rey de Vicente, Regional Head of South America, Banco Santander (Spain)
• Marcelo Behar, Vice President of Sustainability & Group Affairs, Natura & Co. (Brazil)
• Maria Alexandra Moreira Lopez, Secretary General, Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (OTCA)
• Rafael Clavijo, Founder, Parque Ecológico Mundo Amazónico (Colombia)
• Alfonso Garcia Mora, Regional Vice President, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, IFC
• Esther Lynch, General-Secretary, European Trade Union Confederation
Facilitator: Ana María Ibañez, Vice President for Sectors and Knowledge, IDB
PARALLEL ROUND TABLE 3
Bridging the Gap: Unlocking Investment Potential in the Caribbean
Main Room: Schuman (Listening Room – Salle Cinema)
Caribbean region’s investment attractiveness in sectors such as energy, tourism, agriculture, and manufacturing.
Introductory Remarks:
• Aubyn Hill, Senator & Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce of Jamaica
Panellists:
• Jean-Noël de Charentenay, VP Strategy, HDF Energy (France)
• Elizabeth Mena, Vice President, Mining Dominican Corporation, and President, ADOEXPO (Dominican Republic)
• Deodat Maharaj, Executive Director, Caribbean Export Development Agency
• Warsha Sharon Sarjoe, Executive Committee Member, CARICOM Private Sector Organisation (CPSO) & CEO, Rudisa International N.V. (Suriname)
• Diego Perdones, Head of Latin America, AP Moller Maersk (Denmark)
• Lilia Burunciuc, Country Director, Caribbean, World Bank
Facilitator: Hyginus Leon, President, Caribbean Development Bank
PARALLEL ROUND TABLE 4
Critical Raw Materials and E-Mobility
Main Room: Hallstein (Listening Room – Jean Rey)
Conducive conditions for urban electric mobility, including incentives for consumers and businesses and sustainable supply chains of critical raw materials needed for electric batteries.
Introductory Remarks:
• Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice President, European Commission
Panellists:
• Claudia López, Mayor of Bogota, (Colombia)
• Luis Castilla, CEO, Acciona Infrastructure (Spain)
• Patricia Vasconcelos, CEO, CaetanoBus (Portugal)
• Renato Villar, Founder, Voltz Motors (Brazil)
• Geoff Streeton, Chief Development Officer and Member of the Executive Committee, Eramet (France)
• Andrés Rebolledo Smitmans, Executive Director, Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE)
Facilitator: Christian Asinelli, Vice President, CAF
PARALLEL ROUND TABLE 5
Linking Up: Fair Digital Transition and Last Kilometre Connectivity
Main Room: Schuman (Listening Room – Salle Cinema)
Reducing the digital divide and social inequalities by expanding connectivity and reinforcing physical digital infrastructure via fibre connections, mobile networks (5G) and satellite systems.
Introductory Remarks:
• Josep Borrell Fontelles, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy / Vice-President of the European Commission
• Paula Bogantes, Minister of Science, Innovation, Technology and Telecommunications, Costa Rica
Panellists:
• Eduardo Navarro, Chief Corporate Affairs & Sustainability Officer, Telefónica (Spain)
• Federico Guillen, President of Network Infrastructure, Nokia (Finland)
• Chafic Nassif, President, North & Central Latin America and the Caribbean, Ericsson (Sweden)
• Miguel Ángel Panduro, CEO, Hispasat (Spain)
• Luis Ureta, Executive Vice President, Globant Europe (Argentina)
Facilitator: Irene Arias Hofman, CEO, IDB Lab
PARALLEL ROUND TABLE 6
Sustainable Financing in LAC: Scaling up the Sustainable Bond Market
Main Room: Hallstein (no listening room)
Potential impact and scope for scaling up green bonds and complementary sustainable financing instruments like blue and social bonds.
Introductory Remarks:
• Azucena Arbeleche, Minister of Economy and Finance, Uruguay
• Gustavo Manrique Miranda, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility of Ecuador
Panellists:
• James Scriven, CEO, IDB Invest
• Ricardo Mourinho Félix, Vice President, European Investment Bank
• Javier Rodríguez Soler, Global Chief Sustainability Officer, BBVA (Spain)
• Ian Johnston, Vice President, Head of Corporate Finance, Liberty Latin America
• Fuensanta Cobacho Diaz, Head of Structured Finance Americas, Intesa Sanpaolo (Italy)
Facilitator: Koen Doens,Director-General for International Partnerships, European Commission
PARALLEL ROUND TABLE 7
Enhancing Health Resilience
Main Room: Jean-Rey (no listening room)
Investing in pharma, biotech and med-tech sectors to boost regional innovation and facilitate equitable access to health products: what are the key drivers for success?
Introductory Remarks:
• Martin Seychell, Deputy Director General for International Partnerships, European Commission
• Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, Minister of State for Development Francophonie and International Partnerships
Panellists:
• Laura Gutierrez, VP, Head of Global Corporate Public Affairs and Policy, Sanofi (France)
• Mónica Assef, President, Cámara de la Innovación Farmacéutica de Chile
• Matthias Berninger, Senior Vice President Public Affairs, Science & Sustainability, Bayer (Germany)
• Carlos Batthyany, Executive Director, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo (Uruguay)
• James Fitzgerald, Director, Department of Health Systems and Services, PAHO
• Camila de Pamphilis, Chief Data & Patient Experience Officer, Mamotest (Argentina)
Facilitator: José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)