The President of the Israel Ibero-America Chamber of Commerce (CILIB), David O. Abraham, and CILIB’s regional director in Costa Rica, Paul Stephen, attended the 50th General Assembly of the Ibero-American Association of Chambers of Commerce (AICO), held in Lima (Peru) from October 23 to 25, 2023.
This edition brought together more than 400 delegates from 21 Ibero-American countries, Israel and the United States.
AICO, the network of chambers of commerce of Ibero-America
The Ibero-American Association of Chambers of Commerce (AICO) brings together chambers of commerce from the Ibero-American countries. The assembly was chaired by Francisco Herrero, President of AICO and of the Seville Chamber of Commerce.
Sustainability and digitalization, core themes of the 50th General Assembly
The assembly’s motto was “Sustainability and Digitalization: the foundation for the profitability of the companies of the future.” Over the three days, the delegates exchanged experiences and knowledge on how companies can address these two challenges from the perspective of business opportunity and their impact on competitiveness.
SMEs, the foundation of the Ibero-American economy
In his opening speech, Herrero highlighted the role of SMEs in the Ibero-American economy:
“SMEs are the foundation of the economy of the Ibero-American countries. More than 97% of companies are SMEs, and we can say with complete certainty that they are the ones that do the most to promote entrepreneurship and job creation.”
Herrero also highlighted the importance of sustainability and digitalization for SMEs. Another of the assembly’s messages was the following:
“Sustainability, respect for the environment, energy efficiency, overcoming the challenges of climate change and achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are both a necessity and a business opportunity that Ibero-American SMEs must address.”
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals were adopted by the United Nations Member States in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda.
Macro Business Matchmaking event with more than 200 companies
In addition to the plenary sessions, the assembly included a ‘Macro Business Matchmaking’ event that enabled more than 200 Ibero-American companies from the agro-industrial, manufacturing, textile, apparel and services sectors to hold B2B meetings with the aim of reaching trade agreements for setting up and growing their business in Peru.
The 50th AICO General Assembly thus brought together representatives of chambers of commerce from across Ibero-America to analyze the main challenges and opportunities facing companies in the 21st century and to share experiences that help them boost their businesses.
The Chamber and Ibero-American trade
CILIB takes part in the region’s main business forums. Learn about CILIB’s business matchmaking sessions, the Peru country profile and the benefits of membership in the Chamber.
