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Costa Rica Trade & Investment Summit 2025: A New Era for Global Business

This week, Costa Rica is proudly hosting the Costa Rica Trade & Investment Summit 2025, a prominent event designed to unify influential stakeholders in international trade and investment. Organized by the Trade and Investment Promotion Agency of Costa Rica (PROCOMER), this summit marks a significant milestone as it merges exports and foreign direct investment (FDI) into a cohesive platform for the very first time.

Spanning over five days, this landmark event has drawn the participation of more than 1,000 Costa Rican and multinational enterprises, engaging with 400 international buyers and investors hailing from 45 different countries. The agenda is packed with over 3,700 business meetings, investment consultations, visits to business parks, and abundant networking opportunities.

Laura López, the General Manager of PROCOMER, underscores the importance of the summit: “This event is proof that Costa Rica is ready to compete and lead. We have designed a space to attract investment projects that generate linkages, employment, and sustainability, while also promoting our export offer to the most demanding markets. This is the new vision of country promotion—ambitious, strategic, and future-oriented.”

This assembly is also a progression of the historic Buyers Trade Mission (BTM), which for over 25 years has connected thousands of Costa Rican exporters with international buyers. Now, under a more enhanced format, the Costa Rica Trade & Investment Summit effectively combines the endeavors of promoting exports and attracting foreign investments into a single, impactful platform.

The summit's opening ceremony featured notable attendees, including Manuel Tovar, Minister of Foreign Trade, and various international delegations along with representatives from the business community. Participating countries include major markets like Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan, India, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Spain, France, and several Central American nations.

An enriching academic agenda is part of the summit, featuring lectures from esteemed global leaders such as Didi Caldwell from Global Location Strategies, who discussed the impact of economic forces on the future of FDI; Katie McGinty from Johnson Controls, who addressed sustainable growth in smart buildings; and Henry Loewendahl from Wavteq, who presented insights on the future of work. There are also discussions on the tourism investment segment led by María Carolina Pinheiro from Wyndham Hotels.

Economic Growth and Potential

As of July 2025, Costa Rica boasts remarkable goods exports reaching $13.148 billion, showcasing a 17% growth from the previous year, with the precision and medical equipment sector accounting for a striking 48% of these exports. Additional key sectors include agriculture at 17% and food at 12%. The nation is home to over 1,000 multinational companies across strategic sectors including medical devices, corporate services, advanced manufacturing, and digital technologies.

Costa Rica stands as a reliable supplier of high-quality agricultural products, being the world’s largest exporter of pineapples, the third-largest exporter of bananas, and a leading exporter of cassava to the U.S. and EU markets. Its attractiveness for foreign direct investment is further evidenced by the high reinvestment rates and the dynamic growth of projects outside the Greater Metropolitan Area.

In 2024, total FDI hit an impressive $5.008 billion, marking a 32% increase compared to 2023. The primary sources of this investment were the U.S., Colombia, Switzerland, Mexico, and France.

López emphasizes the summit’s commitment to fostering long-lasting relationships and unlocking new opportunities for the nation and its stakeholders: “The Costa Rica Trade & Investment Summit is a commitment to building long-term relationships and opening new opportunities for our regions. This platform was created to stay and to evolve alongside the needs of the global environment.”

This summit is poised to reshape Costa Rica's global business landscape, promising enhanced investment trajectories and robust economic growth in the years to come.