Business entities that make up the Federation of Private Entities of Central America, Panama, and the Dominican Republic (FEDEPRICAP) agreed to resume a common regional agenda, which includes monitoring the evolution of relations with the United States, economic integration, and investment facilitation.
The agreements are part of the meeting organized by the National Council of Private Enterprise (CONEP), which holds the Pro Tempore Presidency of FEDEPRICAP, and which hosted the Ordinary Assembly of Presidents of that regional body.
The meeting was led by the president of CONEP and president pro tempore of FEDEPRICAP, Celso Juan Marranzini, who stated that the Federation is called upon to recover the dynamism that historically characterized it in order to respond, in a coordinated manner, to the challenges that the region faces today.
“We need a space where we can exchange experiences, identify common positions, and follow up on economic integration, trade, investment facilitation, the evolution of our relationship with the United States, education and talent development, artificial intelligence and technological transformation, legal certainty, institutional strengthening, and the defense of democracy and free enterprise in the face of the advance of populist narratives that weaken trust, institutions, and economic growth,” expressed Marranzini while welcoming his Central American counterparts.
The president of CONEP pointed out that the region is going through a moment of transformation, marked by changes in international trade, new geopolitical tensions, technological advances, and growing competition to attract investment and global value chains. In this context, he indicated that opportunities such as nearshoring, digital transformation, and the strengthening of regional supply chains make greater coordination between business organizations even more necessary.
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Likewise, he stated that FEDEPRICAP is “the organized voice of the business sector in the region. We represent hundreds of thousands of companies and millions of jobs. Our responsibility goes beyond legitimately representing our sectors; it also implies contributing to the construction of a more integrated, more competitive, more democratic, and more prosperous Central America and Dominican Republic.”
The session also highlighted the participation of the Panamanian business representation, whose approach strengthens the Federation’s revitalization process, while expressing solidarity with the private sector of Nicaragua in the face of the restrictions that have affected freedom of enterprise and the functioning of its business organizations.
The Assembly brought together Cesar Dargam, executive vice president of CONEP; Carlos Arias Bouscaryrol, president of the Coordinating Committee of Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial and Financial Associations (CACIF) of Guatemala; Diego Marroquín, executive director of CACIF; José Luis Saca, president of the National Association of Private Enterprise (ANEP) of El Salvador; Anabel Gallardo, president of the Honduran Council of Private Enterprise (COHEP); Armando Urtecho López, executive director of COHEP; Elisa Suárez, past president of the National Council of Private Enterprise of Panama (CONEP Panama); Helui Castillo Hung, executive director of FEDEPRICAP; and Perla Contreras, director of Public Affairs of CONEP.
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FEDEPRICAP brings together the main business organizations of Central America and the Dominican Republic, and has worked since its inception for the promotion of public policies that strengthen competitiveness, employment, and democratic stability in the region.
