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Ex Costa Rican president Arias to speak at CofC luncheon

Oscar Arias (Credit: Wikipedia)

Oscar Arias-Sánchez, two-term president of Costa Rica and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, will be addressing the local business community during this Friday’s quarterly luncheon of the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce.

Arias will be discussing with local leaders and entrepreneurs about his experience during his presidency, sharing the strategies he put in place to overcome his country’s socio-economic, and discussing the opportunities he sees for Puerto Rico in Latin America.

Arias is internationally for stabilizing Costa Rica’s economy during his first term as president, from 1986 to 1990.

“He was able to cancel a portion of the external debt, implemented several improvements to education, built over 80,000 houses for the poor, ratified the free trade treaty, increased the GDP in 5 percent and reduced unemployment down to a low 3.4 percent,” CofC President Salvador Calaf-Legrand, said.

Externally, his main focus was geared toward setting off an ambitious peace plan for Central America.

After his first term he created the Arias Foundation, which promotes education as a means of world peace, state demilitarization and investments in education and social capital. After completing second term as president of the Central American country from 2006-2010, Arias has devoted to his foundation and to travelling around the world as a speaker for the nonprofit organization.

“More than a visit, this encounter with Arias represents an additional opportunity for our island to continue identifying strategies that will help us overcome the economic stagnation as well as optimize the business possibilities with other Latin American countries,” said Calaf, adding that “over the next few months we will continue identifying learning growth and business opportunities with sister countries.”

The event will take place at the Conrad Condado Plaza hotel.

Author Details
Author Details
Business reporter with 30 years of experience writing for weekly and daily newspapers, as well as trade publications in Puerto Rico. My list of former employers includes Caribbean Business, The San Juan Star, and the Puerto Rico Daily Sun, among others. My areas of expertise include telecommunications, technology, retail, agriculture, tourism, banking and most other segments of Puerto Rico’s economy.
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