On Tuesday, July 1, Argentina Day took place at the Oppenhoff offices in Cologne, organized by the Latin America Association (LAV). This is the first event of its kind to focus specifically on a single Latin American country and to be hosted by this institution. The goal is to deepen understanding of trade relations, investments, and cooperation in the private sector.

The event brought together prominent representatives from business, politics, and academia to engage in a lively debate on current economic developments and potential opportunities for cooperation between our country and Germany and Europe.

The opening remarks were delivered by Orlando Baquero (Director General of the LAV), Alf Baars (Oppenhoff), and Ambassador Betina Pasquali de Fonseca. 

The first panel discussion on Argentina’s role as a geopolitical partner featured Matthias Kleinhempel (IAE Business School and LAV representative for Argentina), Carl Moses (journalist and consultant), Juan Khouri (director of Dosbio), and Simon Gerards Iglesias (German Economic Institute), moderated by Dr. Hildegard Stausberg.

The second panel discussion focused on Argentina’s trade potential within the framework of the Mercosur-EU Agreement. Participants included Hendrik Schulze Düllo (Senior Market Manager at CLAAS), Gerrit Harms (representative of Volkswagen’s Latin America office), and Peter Funke (representative of Steinert), with Alf Baars moderating.

The event concluded with a presentation by Justus Vitinius, Head of Industry and Services for Latin America at Kf, DEG. 

The business meeting, attended by more than 70 participants, ended with a networking session and a reception sponsored by Trapiche Wines and Grupo Peñaflor.

We would like to thank LAV, Oppenhoff, and DEG for organizing this meeting, as well as all participants for their contribution to this exchange.