The Ambassador of Costa Rica in Spain, Ana Helena Chacón and the former Ambassador of the Republic of Chile in Italy, Fernando Ayala, also participated.
The effects of the pandemic in Latin America and how the 2030 Agenda and the necessary public-private collaboration can provide answers to this situation were analyzed.
The general director of CEOE Internacional and permanent secretary of the Council of Ibero-American Entrepreneurs (CEIB), Narciso Casado, spoke yesterday the 13th in the Dialogues of the Business Observatory for the Achievement of the 2030 Agenda, organized by the Confederation of Entrepreneurs of Andalusia (CEA) in collaboration with Unicaja. On this occasion, the debate was held under the slogan: “The 2030 Agenda in Latin America after COVID-19. Public-private collaboration ”, and participated, in addition to the representative of CEOE, the ambassador of Costa Rica in Spain, Ana Helena Chacón and the former ambassador of the Republic of Chile in Italy, Fernando Ayala. During the discussion, moderated by the director of OECA, Manuel Bellido, the effects of the pandemic in Latin America and how the 2030 Agenda and the necessary public-private collaboration can provide answers to the current context in the Region were analyzed.
The Business Observatory for the Achievement of the 2030 Agenda is an economic, business and social Observatory, promoted by the CEA, in collaboration with Unicaja, which is in charge of coordinating actions to comply with the 2030 Agenda of the private sector. Its objective is to promote the best sustainable future for the planet through the SDGs. To this end, it is intended to involve companies as constructive partners and forge alliances with national and European public and private institutions, as well as with other international organizations, thus underlining the social function of the company. Within the framework of this Observatory, a series of debates are held periodically that contribute to making the 2030 Agenda a reality, prioritizing key issues in this area.
The permanent secretary of CEIB, Narciso Casado, assured that the best answer to face the recovery in the post-Covid stage is resilience. While resistance refers to stoic endurance and a certain passivity, resilience is the ability to move forward in the face of adversity, and this has been a widely used concept in this pandemic and that serves to inspire future actions.
The problem, according to Casado, recalling a phrase from the Ibero-American secretary general, Rebeca Grynspan, is that "when we thought we had all the answers, all the questions changed." Due to the crisis generated by the Covid, Latin America will have to face informality and the increase in unemployment, as well as the high levels of poverty, which affect about 30 million people. "This would translate into a setback of almost two decades in social terms," he said.
For this reason, Casado considered that Latin America should promote sustainable policies in business models and supply chains, valuing productivity, innovation, digitization, creative economies and public-private alliances, to guarantee growth long-term sustainable. In this sense, it opted for the permanent exchange of information between organizations, promoting training and dialogue activities to alleviate this "crisis of great isolation."
Multilateralism must be strengthened, he stressed, as the best tool to face global crises, promoting changes that are for the better and in a sustainable way, always in line with the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda. Another of the main lessons learned in these months, he added , has been the need to support the liquidity of SMEs, promoting the safety and health of workers and maintaining productive activity.
It also opted for the implementation of measures that promote the digital transformation of companies and administrations, since it is still a pending issue and a clear priority for its development. The education and training system is another of the great challenges facing the region, he stressed, which requires a boost in regional mobility and new programs that adapt to the needs of the labor market. Casado highlighted the importance of the foreign sector. "The diversification and internationalization of companies will be priority aspects for a rapid recovery," he stated.
In short, in the post-pandemic stage, consensus, legal certainty, dialogue, more flexible regulatory frameworks, efforts in innovation, digitization, sustainability, integration and inclusion will be demanded, all aspects reflected in the SDGs. "We have to feel more like a Region and bet on Latin America," he said.
Women, youth, integration, solidarity and public-private collaboration
During the discussion, the CEOE International CEO highlighted the importance of both women and young people, claiming that they should be at the center of many things and, therefore, they are very present in the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda. In this line, she explained that, from CEOE, numerous projects focused on these groups have been launched, such as the Promociona Project, which with 6 editions continues to bet on strengthening and developing skills so that women reach senior management positions in the companies (it has been exported to other countries such as Chile); or the Progresa project, which, although it has been launched less time ago, aspires to strengthen the skills necessary to lead projects or teams.
For young people, he added, the Campus Plus project, Ibero-American Project for Education for Employment, has been developed in collaboration with SEGIB, designed to develop knowledge and soft skills of young Ibero-Americans who are in the second half of a career in an accredited institution in the region that has official exchange programs. In the field of small and medium-sized enterprises, Casado referred to the CEPYME 500 project, an initiative of the Confederation of Small and Medium Enterprises (CEPYME, a member of CEOE) that identifies, selects and promotes the set of 500 Spanish companies that are leaders in business growth, to enhance their development and grant them recognition and projection, in order to promote and facilitate their internationalization process.
These are just some of the examples, Casado highlighted, showing that business organizations are more coordinated and cohesive than ever, thus betting on promoting a more solid, fair and inclusive Ibero-America. "We will surely come out of this crisis strengthened, if we continue to believe in dialogue, defend multilateralism and work for the people," he said.
Regional integration and international investments are key, said Casado, for companies to acquire more scale and competitiveness and, for this, once again, education, training and retention of talent are essential requirements to increase the weight of the Region and ensure a better future. To achieve these goals, he added, governments, organizations and companies, academia and citizens as a whole, must come together to get out of this pandemic, always in line with the SDGs. "Public-private collaboration is more necessary than ever and, therefore, we all have to row together in the same direction," he concluded.
Post-pandemic context
The ambassador of Costa Rica in Spain. Ana Helena Chacón, assured that the 2030 Agenda is an issue that brings us all together, it is time to unite, to forge alliances with the business community and to align with the SDGs. To achieve this, he insisted, it is essential to establish a synergy between productivity and the generation of decent employment and the governance of the countries. "We have to think as a Region, think as a country more than as political parties, and base ourselves on the realities we have today in order to comply with the SDGs," he said.
Chacón also explained that the situation in Latin America was already difficult before the pandemic, since when we talk about poverty and hunger, 80% are women and children under 14 years of age. Therefore, in the new reality, it is necessary to try to see how to include women in this process, it is not possible to leave out 50% of the workforce and potential consumers. When women enter the formal labor market, GDP and purchasing power will increase.
"If the pandemic has taught us something, it is how vulnerable we are and how united we must be," said Chacón; who added that this situation has affected us all and we have to lean on each other to get out of it.
The former ambassador of the Republic of Chile in Italy. Fernando Ayala, highlighted that there are countries that have taken the SDGs very seriously, but not all have faced this issue in the same way. The crisis has exposed inequalities, he stressed, that is why we must continue making efforts to reduce them, alleviate hunger and poverty. We are experiencing the fourth industrial revolution, and this is fundamentally digital, which, in his opinion, will generate huge gaps in terms of work. "We are in the hands of a very great uncertainty regarding the future," he said.
The pandemic caught Latin America at a bad political moment for the Region, despite the fact that it had come a long way. Ayala reported that the coordinating policy bodies have been fragmented and the crisis has been devastating in economic terms. He also recalled that "when large markets suffer, we suffer, there are countries that depend a lot on tourism, a fundamental sector." However, the former Chilean ambassador also wanted to convey a message of optimism for the future, betting on multilateralism, resilience and public-private collaboration, which, without a doubt, are key to getting out of the crisis.
The director of CSR of Unicaja Banco, José María López, assured, to close the act, that "the States alone cannot get out of this crisis" and that, to achieve financial governance, it is first necessary to achieve global political governance. He also launched a message of optimism and hope, in line with the rest of the speakers.
