Tegucigalpa, March 22, 2019. Before a large audience composed of high authorities of the Government of Honduras, Ambassadors, representatives from academia, business associations, the country's cultural and creative sectors, as well as the media, Colombian Presidential Adviser for Economic and Strategic Affairs, Mr. Felipe Buitrago, gave a presentation at the Auditorium of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI). The conference was denominated,  "Squeezing the orange economy."
Mr. Buitrago shared with event attendees his experience and knowledge about the Orange Economy, highlighting the social dividend of these industries, which transcend simple economic contribution and puts the human being and its essence at the center of all work, beyond figures and commercial development.
He noted that for Colombia, the Orange Economy is not designed for the current government period but is proposed as an economic value-added model that seeks to contribute to the reduction of socioeconomic gaps through a commitment to sectors of the country with great wealth and potential that have not been properly used to date.
He concluded that the Orange Economy is a great development opportunity for the Latin American countries, but it should be analyzed with a broader scope given that in the modern economy, wealth is not measured exclusively by means of physical capital and includes social and cultural contributions.
The event began with a speech by CABEI Executive Vice President Attorney Alejandro Rodríguez, who welcomed the attendees and stressed that at the regional level, the entity seeks to support initiatives aimed at innovation and entrepreneurship in order to promote the growth of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Central American region.

For her part, the Director of the Orange Economy Commission of the Government of Honduras, Attorney Lorenza Durón stressed that, since 2018, Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández established the initiative to promote investment and employment, following the economic model of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) denominated the Orange Economy, which promotes the formalization of creative, cultural, tourism and innovation industries. In this regard, the president has held meetings, among others, with the President of Colombia Iván Duque, the IDB representative in the country and representatives of the Honduran creative community.

Likewise, Ms. Pamela Chávez, Founder and CEO of "Pequeñas Empresa, Grandes Ideas/Small Businesses, Great Ideas," highlighted the role of her company and the private sector in the development of cultural and creative industries, noting that having a presence in Honduras of one of the referents of the global creative economy, as is Presidential Adviser Felipe Buitrago, is a great support to their training work, which will lead to boosting efforts to continue working for the region, seeking results, collaborating with MSME growth and guiding and achieving agreements that result in the generation of added value, such as the "Orange Cultural Intermediaries," who are dedicated to community service and work.

Colombia Ambassador, Victoria González Ariza, and the Colombian Embassy work team have coordinated all the details of this important visit to Honduras, which is an excellent opportunity to strengthen cooperation bonds and reinforce the excellent relationship between the two countries.