PROCOMER Shares Best Practices to Drive Investment Outside of GAM (Greater Metropolitan Area)

• Official Investment Agency Present at OECD Annual Meeting.
• The focus of this 2023 meeting is “Making FDI Contribute to Sustainable and Regional Development.”

San José, November 7, 2023. On November 7 and 8, the Foreign Trade Promoter of Costa Rica (PROCOMER) participates in the 8th meeting of Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs), a forum of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) aimed at exchanging experiences and best practices in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) among different countries.

As Costa Rica’s official investment promotion agency, PROCOMER participates in the IPA Network represented by Laura López, General Manager; and Mónica Umaña, Investment Manager of the Institution.

At this 8th IPA Network meeting, discussions will revolve around the theme “Making FDI Contribute to Sustainable and Regional Development,” aiming to maintain conversations about the current challenges and opportunities of FDI, regional development, and sustainability.

“We have high expectations of what we can offer and gather as a national investment promotion agency at this forum, taking advantage of experiences and also sharing our success story. PROCOMER does an extraordinary job in attracting and diversifying new investment sources that are now also reaching communities outside the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM), this is development for the entire country,” stated the Minister of Foreign Trade, Manuel Tovar.

For her part, Laura López, General Manager of PROCOMER, added that for the Institution, it is vital to participate in this forum, not only to generate an exchange of experiences and approaches with similar institutions from other countries but also to share the new investment attraction strategy, focused on diversifying origins, sectors, and destinations to impact all regions of the country, as well as Costa Rica’s value proposition for investors.

“Our country’s value proposition is robust, with sustainability being a differentiating factor, an important theme at this 8th IPA Network meeting. In the first half of this year, FDI flows show a growth of 12%; this demonstrates the effectiveness of the country’s value proposition, as well as the confidence that hundreds of multinational companies continue to place in Costa Rica,” added López.

During their participation in IPA Network, Laura López and Mónica Umaña will be present in discussion forums about “What strategies are necessary to attract FDI in regions and improve their impact on regional development?”; Strengthening local labor: the case of investments in battery plants; Regional development – a deep dive into the role of IPAs; as well as Monitoring and evaluating sustainable investment.

In 2016, with the support of the OECD Investment Committee, the IPA Network was created to bring together representatives of Investment Promotion Agencies and OECD policymakers to benefit from the Organization’s analysis, share experiences, and exchange best practices.

In 2016, with the support of the OECD Investment Committee, the IPA Network was created to bring together representatives of Investment Promotion Agencies and OECD policymakers to benefit from the Organization’s analysis, share experiences, and exchange best practices.

The main objectives of the IPA Network are:

• To bring together a community of like-minded investment promotion professionals interested in participating in discussions and exchanging experiences.
• To leverage OECD expertise to collect, build, and use knowledge and analysis on investment promotion and related topics.
• To engage with a broader community of policymakers and IPAs, including those from non-OECD regions and countries.