XXXIX INTERNATIONAL ALLIES NEWSLETTER
MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT:
Internationalization, our horizont
Dear friends of the BCC,
I am pleased to share with you the digital publication, from now on quarterly, “Internationally Speaking”; a newsletter issued by the Bogota Chamber of Commerce for our international allies, in which you can learn about relevant aspects of the Colombian economy, news of the country and Bogota, and events, as well as those important advances and results, which reflect the efforts of a great team and mutual trust with allies like you.
The Bogota Chamber of Commerce continues to consolidate its position as a reference in our country, in Latin America and in the world. We have more than 800 allies in all regions of the planet. Our purpose is to help Bogota's companies participate in spaces of relationship with the world to expand their interests and achieve their exporting dreams.
This year, we will hold more than 20 specialized events that will benefit 7,000 entrepreneurs, which are designed to strengthen their capabilities in digital standards, digital economy, sustainability, business transparency, and intellectual property, thus opening doors to the international market.
We will also bring the best trends and knowledge from world experts and hope to continue attracting investment and visitors to our city.
We hope that this digital newsletter will be an instrument to motivate you to visit us, and make relationships and business with Colombia.
Ovidio Claros Polanco Presidente Ejecutivo Cámara de Comercio de Bogotá
GOOD NEWS FROM COLOMBIA, BOGOTÁ AND THE REGION
• Colombia: sixth fastest growing country in Latin America by 2025
BBVA Research estimates that the Colombian economy will grow by 2.5% in 2025, influenced by uncertainty in international markets and changes in global trade policies. By 2026, growth is projected at 2.9%. For its part, the World Bank forecasts 3% growth for Colombia in 2025, placing it in sixth place for growth in Latin America. This projection is based on the recovery of consumption and private investment, supported by inflation control. For more information, see link, here
• Dorado Airport: 7 years recognized as the best airport in Latin America.
Bogota's El Dorado International Airport has been recognized for the seventh time as the Best Airport in South America, according to the prestigious Skytrax awards. This award, given for the fourth consecutive time, highlights excellence in passenger experience, evaluating aspects such as services, safety, comfort and technology. For more information, please consult the following link.
• Exports in Colombia's free trade zones will grow 4.5% in 2025.
Colombia's National Administrative Department of Statistics reported the trade performance of the Free Trade Zones as of January 2025. In the first month of the year, merchandise exports from these zones registered an increase of 4.5%, going from US$228.7 million FOB in January 2024 to US$239.0 million FOB in the same month of 2025.
In the Permanent Free Trade Zones, PFTZs, there was an increase of 1.3% in exports and this contributed 0.6 percentage points to the total. In the case of exports from the Special Permanent Free Trade Zones, EPZs, there was an increase of 7.5%. The EPZs contributed 3.8 percentage points to the total variation in exports. For more information, see the following link
• China and Colombia sign historic agreement that integrates the South American country into the Silk Road and Belt initiative
Colombia sealed one of the most ambitious agreements of its foreign policy: the incorporation of Colombia into the Belt and Road initiative, the global infrastructure megaproject led by China. This decision marks a strategic shift in the South American country's relations, expanding investment, trade and cooperation opportunities with the Asian giant.
Colombia's accession to the Silk Road opens the door to receive Chinese financing for large-scale works, previously considered unfeasible without external support. According to sources from the Ministry of Commerce, the government is evaluating rail, port and telecommunications infrastructure projects, with the aim of modernizing the country over the next ten years. For more information, see link here.
• Bogota seeks to attract 15 million tourists in 2025
The Colombian capital seeks to attract more than 15 million tourists, of which more than 2 million will be international and more than 13 million domestic. To strengthen its global projection, Bogota will host more than 50 major events that will place it on the international radar, attracting visitors and investment that will consolidate the Bogota Tu Casa city brand. As part of this commitment to the growth of tourism in the city, the Stopover strategy is being promoted, which allows connecting travelers to stay in Bogota for several hours or even days at no additional cost on their ticket.
This encourages short-stay tourism and makes the city an attractive option for those who wish to discover its cultural and gastronomic richness before continuing their trip. Bogota seeks to replicate the success of other cities around the world and position itself as an essential stopover for international travelers. For more information, please consult the following link
2. NEWS AND EVENTS OF THE BOGOTÁ CHAMBER
OF
COMMERCE
• The Bogota Chamber of Commerce received more than 12 international business and business delegations in 2024.
The Bogota Chamber of Commerce successfully received in 2024, international delegations from China, United States, New Zealand, Jamaica, Greece, Panama, El Salvador, Canada, Spain, Venezuela, Guatemala, among other countries. This responds to a strategic plan that continues in 2025, aimed at strengthening commercial ties, encouraging new business opportunities and positioning Bogota as an attractive destination for investment and tourism.
During these meetings, agendas were generated to learn about investment policies and sectors with international projection, and explorations and alliances with Colombian businessmen were managed. In addition, successful cases of cooperation were highlighted, such as the growth in exports of local products to Southeast Asian markets, and the consolidation of tourist routes promoted in collaboration with foreign agencies, reaffirming the role of the Chamber as a key bridge between Bogota and the world, boosting the economic development of the city and the country.
• We organized: The Andean Business Summit and the Summit “North America in perspective: expanding business, strengthening alliances”.
The Andean Business Summit and Business Roundtable “Strengthening regional value chains between Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela” was held on May 29 and 30 at the Salitre headquarters of the Bogota Chamber of Commerce and positioned itself as the event that has promoted the integration and strengthening of value chains in the region, highlighting the key role of entrepreneurs as drivers of economic development.
On May 14 and 15, the Summit “North America in Perspective: ExpandingBusiness, Strengthening Alliances” was held, which promoted commercial exchange, the generation of business opportunities and the adoption of good sectoral practices.
These summits combined high-level academic spaces with practical networking and business negotiation activities (international business roundtables), contributing to the internationalization process of Colombian companies and the strengthening of regional value chains.
• We held a forum on business and investment opportunities in El Salvador
The Bogota Chamber of Commerce in coordination with the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of El Salvador, the Investment and Export Promotion Agency of El Salvador - INVEST and the Salvadoran Tourism Corporation; developed a great forum where the multisectoral opportunities for trade and investment in El Salvador were presented to Colombian businessmen. Important topics were discussed on the business climate in both nations and the sectors prioritized for investment positioning strategy through tourism.
In 2024, 31 international relations events and workshops were held, benefiting more than 3,700 businessmen and entrepreneurs, and we also developed 64 work plans with international partners from 35 countries around the world.
• Bogota and the Bogota Chamber of Commerce will host two World Summits in 2025..
Bogota consolidates its position as a global epicenter of events with the confirmation of two important international summits to be held in September and October 2025. The Colombian capital, through the leadership of the Bogota Chamber of Commerce, will host the International Summit and Business Roundtable: “Expanding Borders, Building Global Alliances” on September 22nd and 23rd.
This summit seeks to foster dialogue, collaboration and the development of strategic alliances between business leaders from different sectors and countries, in order to boost economic growth and regional and international competitiveness.
Bogota will host the III World Business Mediation Summit on October 1 and 2. It will be a key meeting to strengthen corporate justice and alternative dispute resolution. The World Summit on Corporate Mediation will bring together experts, business leaders and jurists to discuss best practices, innovations and policies on conflict resolution in the corporate sphere. This will be a unique opportunity to position Colombia as a regional reference in mediation, especially in a global context that demands more agile and collaborative methods to solve commercial disputes.
From October 27-30, the World Boxing Organization (WBO) World Boxing Summit will be held in the Colombian capital, bringing together champions, promoters, trainers and federations from the five continents, making Bogota the meeting point for the top figures in the sport.
Both summits reaffirm the commitment of the Bogota Chamber of Commerce to the international projection of the city as a host city for major meetings.
• ¿Do you know our free courses on access to national and international cooperation resources?
This course in Spanish provides information on the possibilities that national and international cooperation opens for businessmen/businesswomen and entrepreneurs to leverage financial and/or technical resources to promote their company or business idea, as well as training them on how to use the logical framework tool for the formulation of projects to access these resources. For more information and permanent registrations, please contact here
ECONOMIC TIPS OF COLOMBIA
Economic Tracking Indicator
For March 2025, DANE published the Economic Followup Indicator, registering a negative monthly variation of 0.9%. More information on this topic here.
Inflation
In May 2025, annual inflation was 5.05% in Colombia and 5.47% in Bogota. In the capital, the highest annual increases were recorded in Education (7.94%), Accommodation, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels (6.77%) and Restaurants and Hotels (6.55%). The only drop was in Information and Communication (-2.03 %). The Board of Banco de la República has decided to maintain the interest rate at 9.25%. More information on this topic here
Business Dynamics
According to the Commercial Registry, the period from January to May 2025 had a positive balance in business dynamics compared to the same period of 2024, driven in part by the growth in the creation of new companies, which rose by 3.8%, from 37,901 companies in 2024 to 39,360 in the same period of 2025, i.e. 1,459 more companies. More information on this topic here
The Review
Labor Market
In Bogota, the unemployment rate for the mobile quarter February - April /2025 was 8.9%, 1.2 p.p. lower than in the previous year (10.1 %). At the national level, unemployment stood at 8.8 % in April 2025. The unemployment rate gender gap (difference between the rate for men and women) in Colombia reached 4.2 p.p. in April 2025, lower than the 4.3 p.p. registered in 2024. More information on this topic here.
Exports
In April 2025, exports from Bogota grew by 15.9% annually (US$448.8 million FOB) and in Cundinamarca increased by 2.0% (US$224.3 million). As a result, total exports from the Bogotá-Cundinamarca region amounted to US$673.1 million FOB. The United States consolidated its position as the region's main trading partner, with a 39.6% share of total exports. In addition, among the five main destinations for external sales, there were increases in exports to the United States (26.2 %), Peru (6.6 %) and Ecuador (2.2 %). In contrast, exports to Mexico and Venezuela fell by 7.1% and 6.9%, respectively. More information on this topic here
SOURCES:
• For more information refer to the Observatory of the Bogota Chamber of Commerce. https://www.ccb.org.co/observatorio
• DANE. National Accounts. Retrieved from: https://www.dane.gov.co/
• Commercial Registry, CCB, 2019 - 2020 - 2021 - 2022 - 2023 - 2024 -2025. Retrieved from: https://www.ccb.org.co/Inscripciones-y-renovaciones/Matricula-Mercantil/Boletines-del-RegistroMercantil
• Bank of the Republic. https://www.banrep.gov.co/sites/default/files/nota_de_prensa_inversion_directa.pdf
• Ministry of Finance https://www.minhacienda.gov.co/webcenter/ShowProperty?nodeId=/ConexionContent/WCC_CL USTER-249264