Advancing the private sector of the Americas

–  Initiative to strengthen Regional Stability and Prosperity

WASHINGTON, USA – The Organization of American States (OAS) convened over 250 business leaders, governments, and the diplomatic community across the Americas to commemorate the establishment of the OAS Initiative “Private Sector of the Americas” and formally presented its inaugural board of directors.

The Private Sector of the Americas is a business-led hemispheric initiative that brings together leading chambers of commerce and industry leaders from across North, Central, and South America, and the Caribbean. Its uniqueness lies in creating a common platform for connecting these regions’ businesses to strengthen their collective voice, identify shared priorities, and work together across sectors and borders. By building a bridge between organizations and entrepreneurs that traditionally operate independently, the Private Sector of the Americas creates an unprecedented opportunity to foster regional cooperation among them, with governments and development institutions.

The Initiative aims to help address barriers to investment, strengthen regional trade, value chains, and unlock business opportunities to contribute to economic growth at a greater scale. Areas of interest for collaboration include energy and natural resources, digital transformation, infrastructure and logistics, biodiversity, tourism, and food production.

The event marked an important step toward bringing business leaders closer to the work of the Organization and the priorities of governments, while strengthening the private sector’s contribution to stability and prosperity across the Americas.

Chaired by Bettina Bulgheroni, the board of directors brings together the Latin American Business Council (CEAL), represented by María Gloria Alarcón; the CARICOM Private Sector Organization (CPSO), represented by Dr Patrick Antoine; the Latin American Chamber of Commerce of the United States (CAMACOL), represented by Joe Chi; and the Federation of Chambers and Industrial Associations of Central America and the Dominican Republic (FECAICA), represented by Valeria Prado.

Private Sector of the Americas will also work closely with founding partner organisations represented at the event by Anne McKinney, vice president for the Americas at the Chamber of Commerce; Kevin K. Sullivan, vice president of the Washington Office of the Americas Society/Council of the Americas (AS/COA); Paulo Protasio, president of the Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services (CISBRA); and Jim Golsen, vice president of Corporate Diplomacy at Meridian International Center.

The initiative will remain open to incorporating additional organizations and partners across the hemisphere that share its objectives and are willing to contribute actively to its work, ensuring broad participation and a growing regional network.

OAS secretary general Albert R. Ramdin emphasised the Organisation’s role as a convening platform for identifying shared priorities. “The hemisphere needs a common agenda for working with the private sector, and the OAS, where all our member states come together, can provide the space to build it. Here, the private sector of the Americas can agree on a roadmap and present it with one voice,” he said. He further stated, “We have started the conversation, and I invite you to help turn it into sustained action.”

For her part, board chair Bulgheroni underscored the connection between business activity and strong institutions. “We need strong institutions, clear rules, and confidence in the future. That is the spirit in which I assume this responsibility: bringing the private sector closer to the spaces where our region’s future is envisioned and built,” she affirmed.

The event also featured remarks by Ilan Goldfajn, president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), who said, “we need the private sector for development” and further emphasised that “in Latin America, 9 out 10 jobs are created by the private sector.” Mauricio Reves, speaking on behalf of CAF-Development Bank of Latin America’s executive president Sergio Díaz-Granados, said “the value of the Initiative lies in establishing a permanent channel for dialogue within the OAS, with continuity and the capacity for follow-up. A space where proposals can become decisions, and decisions can become opportunities.”

The banks’ participation highlighted the importance of joint dialogue between these institutions and Private Sector of the Americas to identify shared priorities, coordinate efforts, and develop partnerships that promote investment, job creation, and prosperity across the hemisphere.

Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs of the United States, Juan Pablo Segura, emphasised the importance of governments creating a viable environment for businesses to grow.

Sir Ronald Sanders, chair of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI), ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to the United States, and Permanent Representative to the OAS, highlighted:

“This initiative can extend the reach and impact of [the work of the OAS] by bringing governments and the private sector together to turn the hemisphere’s economic potential into lasting gains for its people.”

The chair of the Permanent Council and Permanent Representative of Ecuador to the OAS, Mónica Palencia, stated the importance of connecting the initiative with the region’s social challenges. “I applaud this initiative because one of the priorities of the Americas, one of the world’s most unequal regions, is to work toward eradicating poverty,” she said.

The board of directors will broaden engagement with business leaders across the hemisphere. Interested companies and organisations are invited to contribute proposals, expertise, and tools to advance the work of the Private Sector of the Americas, fostering partnerships that promote investment, create jobs, support business growth, and contribute to greater economic opportunity and prosperity throughout the region.