Latin America Association
The Latin America Association e. V. (LAV) is a Hamburg- based trade association for the promotion of economic relations between Germany and the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean . Founded in 1916 by merchants from Hamburg and Bremen , the LAV now supports cross-sector and nationwide companies in establishing and expanding business relationships in the region.
The association informs its members about the current economic and political situation in Latin America and is a platform for the exchange of information and experiences between members, associations and political institutions about economic framework conditions and market entry opportunities. The association organizes events on business-related topics as well as market research trips to the region. The association currently looks after around 400 companies from Germany and Latin America, including small and medium-sized companies, corporations, associations and individuals. The board of directors and the presidium consist of board members and managing directors of the member companies. The association is part of the Latin America Initiative of German Business (LAI). The Chairman of the Board of the Latin America Association is Bodo Liesenfeld, CEO of Liesenfeld International GmbH, Hamburg.
Latin America Day
Since 1949, the association has organized the Latin America Day once a year as a two-day economic conference in Hamburg or another major German city, on the occasion of which the president of a Latin American country is invited as a guest of honor. The Latin America Day is a platform for exchange between the regions, where the current economic situation, trends and opportunities for cooperation between the German economy and Latin America are shown from different perspectives.
Selection of previous guests of honor
- 1949: Ludwig Erhard , German Federal Minister for Economics
- 1954: Theodor Heuss , German Federal President
- 1961: Heinrich Lübke , German Federal President
- 1976: Walter Scheel , German Federal President
- 1989: Helmut Schmidt , German Chancellor
- 1999: Hugo Chávez , Venezuelan President
- 2000: Fernando Henrique Cardoso , Brazilian President
- 2001: Vicente Fox , Mexican President
- 2004: Nicanor Duarte Frutos , Paraguayan President
- 2005: Tabaré Vázquez , Uruguayan President
- 2006: Michelle Bachelet , Chilean President
- 2007: Martín Torrijos , Panamanian President
- 2008: Patrick Manning , Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago
- 2009: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva , Brazilian President
- 2010: Cristina Fernández de Kirchner , Argentine President
- 2011: José Mujica , Uruguayan President
- 2012: Ricardo Martinelli , Panamanian President
- 2013: Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal , Mexican Minister of Economic Affairs
- 2014: Michelle Bachelet , Chilean President
- 2015: Evo Morales , Bolivian President
- 2016: Martin Schulz , President of the European Parliament
- 2017: Gabriel André Duque Mildenberg, Ambassador of the Republic of Colombia to Japan
- 2018: Sebastián Piñera , Chilean President