The Latin American Business Council, known as CEAL, said Thursday that the region should take advantage of its assets to achieve shared prosperity.

Being well-positioned in regard to the “great megatrends” of security in food, water and energy; sustainability; and peace demonstrates that Latin America is “part of the solution and not part of the problem,” the president of CEAL International, Ingo Plöger, said during an event in Managua.

The meeting brings together some 300 business leaders from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, United States, Spain, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela.

The Latin American business community needs to define the nature of the leadership it hopes to exert in the region and in the wider world, Plöger said. EFE

Managua, Aug 18 (EFE)

The Latin American Business Council (CEAL) was formally constituted on February 19, 1990 in Mexico City, as a response to current trends leading towards economic globalization and to the development of a new economic block structure.

These conditions have strengthened, in an extraordinary fashion, the growth of free markets across the globe, as well as the processes for regional integration, which include important initiatives, such as: the North American Free Trade Agreement, Mercosur, the Andean Pact, the G3 Group, and the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), as well as relations with European countries.

CEAL firmly believes that these integration processes will succeed as long as the private sector assumes its leadership role in the region. Aware of this responsibility, CEAL aims to encourage private sector participation as an agent of change.

CEAL members are high-level managers and shareholders. Their affiliation is on a personal basis, through invitation by the Board. Member selection criteria are based on personal qualities, professional performance, renowned ethical and moral qualities, and the economic relevance of their corresponding organizations.