Latin America: A region with so much to gain, and so much more to offer

Latin America: A region with so much to gain, and so much more to offer

Canning House holds three flagship Presidential Canning Lectures in Glasgow, shining a spotlight on Panama, Costa Rica and Ecuador.

On 1-2 November, in support of the COP26 inauguration and world leaders summit in Glasgow, Canning House, the UK’s leading think tank on Latin America, held the 20th, 21st and 22nd flagship Canning Lectures with the Presidents of Panama, Costa Rica and Ecuador.

HE President Laurentino Cortizo’s lecture, ‘Panama: Gateway to Latin America,’ was the first to take to the stage with the announcement of Panama’s standing as one of only 3 countries on the planet with climate negative status, and insight into the country’s work on extreme poverty reduction, especially in digital education.

This was followed by HE Carlos Alvarado Quesada’s lecture, ‘Costa Rica’s Ambition for a Green Global Contract,’ where the President spoke on his country’s leadership in reversing deforestation, and the value of leading by example in climate action.

Finally, HE President Guillermo Lasso Mendoza, in his lecture ‘More Ecuador in the World, and More of the World in Ecuador,’ discussed the expansion of the Galapagos marine reserve by 60,000 sq km in a ground-breaking partnership between Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica and Colombia; and his vision for Ecuador as a country of opportunity, particularly for green investment.

On the three highly successful lectures, Canning House CEO Cristina Cortes observed: “The biggest long-term risk of all for Latin America is the environment. In this year of COP26 in Glasgow, the greatest challenge facing Latin America is at the same time a unique and urgent opportunity to take a strategic part in these vital global initiatives. The region has so much to gain, and so much more to offer.”

Since 1997, the Canning Lecture has been delivered by a visiting Latin American or Iberian President or Head of Government. The Canning Lecture is one of the most high-profile such events in the UK and a unique opportunity to hear from and engage directly with a current Latin American or Iberian leader.

These Canning Lectures were organised in partnership with

The Embassy of Panama in the United Kingdom

The Embassy of Costa Rica in the United Kingdom

The Embassy of Ecuador in the United Kingdom

With support from

Our media partner