More dialogue with and about Latin America

“Recent geopolitical developments offer an opportunity for repositioning the EU and Germany in cooperation with Latin America,” said Gunnar Kilian, LADW Chairman and Member of the Group Board of Management of Volkswagen AG at the opening of the first LADW evening reception on June 2, 2022 in Berlin. However, he said, it was not about finding short-term solutions to acute bottlenecks in Europe, but about building long-term partnerships to mutually strengthen industrial competitiveness, secure jobs and create wealth in both regions.

Following the annual LADW member meeting, the ambassadors of the Latin American countries met with members of the Bundestag and selected representatives of the German government and business community at an evening reception in Berlin. The personal exchange in a relaxed atmosphere at the DRIVE. Volkswagen Group Forum was the focus of the evening.

The Ukraine war has made the strategic importance of Latin America even clearer. It has the highest density of democracies in the world after Western Europe and North America. With Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, the region also has three important G20 members. And the potential for more cooperation in renewable energies, raw materials, digitization or agribusiness is convincing. Germany would be well advised to consistently expand its relations with this region.

“If we do not intensify the dialogue with Latin America, we run the risk of losing the position German industry has built up there over decades. There is hardly any other continent where competition between companies is as intense as in Latin America,” emphasized Kilian.