Dubai, UAE – It is no longer about restarting the economy, but finding ways to reinvent it, asserted industry experts during a panel session titled Building Stronger Trade Infrastructure, which took place on the second and final day of Global Business Forum Latin America (GBF LATAM 2022).

The panel session brought together Dr Didacus Jules, Director General of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) from Saint Lucia; Dyogo Oliveira, Former President of the National Association of Airport Management Companies (ANEAA) from Brazil; and Javier Peña Capobianco, Secretary-General of the Association of Latin American Service Exporters from Uruguay.

“We are among the most tourism-dependant economies in the world,” said  Dr Didacus Jules, referring to the Eastern Caribbean States. “The COVID-19 pandemic [led to] a shutdown of the tourism industry, and in one month, we had a total of 3,340 flights grounded. This had a tremendous impact on supply chains and food imports, but also created opportunities for a transformational approach. It is no longer about restarting the economy but finding ways to reinvent our economy in green, resilient ways.”

“The regionalisation of trade and the supply chain is an important step in that direction,” Dr Jules continued. “Trade has three channels: air, sea, and IT. The latter is now vital and almost every aspect of our lives. We have to approach it with design thinking; we cannot focus on just one element, it has to be a symbiotic approach.”

For his part, Javier Peña Capobianco noted that while COVID-19 did have a profound impact on the economy, only one sector came out a winner, and that is the global services sector, most notably IT. “We conducted research with more than 70 leaders, and found that during this difficult time, they managed to attract more people and enhance productivity. They made a radical shift, delivering 100% of services electronically and it became common that companies hire individuals or groups in different parts of the world,” he said.

“At the same time, this creates challenges: for individuals, who have to deal with personal life and working from home; for companies, who need to figure out how to deal with security issues and how to embrace new hires, and for governments – particularly those in Latin America – who have to think of ways to encourage their own talent and entrepreneurs to create startups in the region itself,” Capobianco added.

Meanwhile, Dyogo Oliveira said: “When talk about infrastructure, it is about more than basic infrastructure. We have to look at all elements of infrastructure, such as electricity and IT. These are still issues in Latin America, where countries face fiscal problems, and with that in mind, we have seen increased involvement from the private sector in these issues.”

“A major lesson we can learn from Dubai is to first build regional hubs and build on them to go worldwide,” Oliveira explained. “One thing that is absent in Latin America is that we are looking to connect with other countries around the world individually, we never tried to create a hub and make it easier for other countries to connect with us.”

GBF Latin America forms part of Dubai Chamber of Commerce’s flagship Global Business Forum series, which was launched in 2013 to provide Dubai’s business community with new opportunities and strengthen the emirate’s position as a global business hub, a dynamic centre of commerce, and a gateway to lucrative new markets. 

Held on March 23rd-24th by Dubai Chamber of Commerce in partnership with Expo 2020 Dubai, and held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai, the two-day GBF Latin America was organised under the theme Towards a Resilient Future and promoted dialogue between business leaders along three main themes: ‘Reform,’ ‘Empower’ and ‘Grow.’

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Dubai Chambers is a non-profit public entity that supports Dubai’s vision as a global player by empowering businesses, providing innovative value-added services and access to influential networks. In March 2021, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, announced the restructuring of Dubai Chamber and the formation of three chambers for the emirate, namely, Dubai Chamber of Commerce, Dubai International Chamber, and Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, which now operate under Dubai Chambers.

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