Political and Economic Change: Argentina’s Silver Lining

Overview

On April 5, 2018, Meridian partnered with Visa to host a breakfast with His Excellency Ambassador Fernando Oris de Roa, Ambassador of the Argentine Republic to the United States, as a part of the Global Business Breakfast series. This roundtable allowed companies to discuss the economic state of affairs in Argentina and potential investment and expansion opportunities in the country.

Ambassador Oris de Roa opened with an encouraging statistic: the poverty rate in Argentina has dropped from 32% in 2016 to 25% in 2018. Following his election in 2015, President Mauricio Macri has continuously been dedicated to fostering economic growth in Argentina. Ambassador Oris de Roa emphasized that the key to keeping this promise is actively engaging with the private sector, as well as collaborating with the government. Argentina’s goals for economic expansion look promising: the fiscal deficit is expected to lower down to 3.2% and the inflation rate is on track to hit 23% this year. Argentina also boasts a strong monetary policy. The economic growth success in recent years has led to Mauricio Macri’s party winning the midterm elections, giving a promising end to populist leadership.

The Ambassador also mentioned a set of key reforms that the Argentine government is currently working on, in order to improve the economy of the country, such as new pension and labor reforms. These reforms, specifically the labor reform, would help improve business competitiveness. Ambassador Oris de Roa is optimistic about the political, economic, and societal change currently unfolding in the country. In addition, Argentina is hosting the G20 meeting, giving it an opportunity to show off the progress it has made to potential foreign investors.

Argentina’s future inspires much needed change. Private sector investment, economic growth, and political advancement will ultimately make Argentina one of the top choices for expansion into Latin America.

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In Attendance

Corporate Council Members:

Embassy of Colombia: Ambassador Oris de Roa, Pablo Rodriguez Brizuela (Minister - Economic and Commerical), Fflorencia Soledad Garcia (First Secretary - Economic and Commercial)

Guests: Amazon, Citigroup, The Cohen Group, Deere & Company, GE, Nokia, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Meridian International Center: Ambassador Stuart Holliday, Puru Trivedi, Lizzy Ramey

Meridian looks forward to working with the Embassy of Argentina on future initiatives in Washington.

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