Latin America Initiative of German Business (LAI)

The Latin America Initiative of German Business (LAI) was founded 1994 by the Federation of German Industries, the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce and the Business Association for Latin America.

Later LAI was joined by the Federation of German Wholesale and Foreign Trade (BGA) and the Association of German Banks (BdB). The CEO of B. Braun Melsungen AG, Ludwig Georg Braun, acts as Chairman of the LAI.

The objective of the Latin American Initiative is to improve the overall image of the region in Germany as well as to secure and enhance the position of German businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises in Latin America. The various activities in Latin America and Germany needed to be brought together and aligned strategically.

For this reason a Latin American Discussion Group (GLA) was established, whose members are: the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi), the Federal Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development (BMZ), the BDI, the DIHK, the BdB, the BGA, the IAV as well as the spokesman of the German Chambers of Industry and Commerce in Latin America.

The main focus of BDI’s Latin America activities is on Brazil as the largest country in the region. BDI together with its Brazilian counterpart Confederation of National Industry (CNI )organizes annually economic conferences with high-ranking representatives from both business and politics, alternating between Germany and Brazil. Bilateral initiatives on energy and infrastructure and agribusiness were set up to promote concrete economic cooperation in these fields.