Costa Rica is not only a popular investment destination for foreign individuals, businesses and industries; it is increasingly receiving funds from foreign governments and multi-national organizations as well. Two recent examples are investments by the World Bank and the Chinese government. The World Bank approved a three-year, $258 million lending program in early September. The [...]
Archive for the ‘International Relations’ Category
World Bank, Chinese Government Invest in Costa Rica
Posted in Costa Rica Developments, International Relations, tagged Investment, Jaco, Puntarenas, World Bank on October 10, 2008 | 2 Comments »
Costa Rica’s Entry into CAFTA May Be Delayed
Posted in Costa Rican Law, International Relations, tagged CAFTA, Free Trade on September 18, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Questions over changes made to Costa Rica’s intellectual property law may prevent the nation from meeting the October 1 deadline for adopting the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). Costa Rican voters ratified CAFTA last year, but the Constitutional Court ruled last week that the changes, made by the Legislative Assembly, were invalid. Because they [...]
Costa Rica: Looking Better All the Time
Posted in International Relations, tagged International Rankings, Investment in Costa Rica on September 5, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Savvy investors are looking to Costa Rica more and more as world markets continue to teeter uncertainly. According to a report on Forbes.com, Moody’s Investors Service “revised the outlook on Costa Rica’s key ratings to positive from stable following ‘significant improvement in fiscal and debt positions and the likelihood of the improvement continuing in the [...]
Costa Rica Among “Ten Best Ethical Destinations for 2008″
Posted in International Relations, Tourism, tagged Environmentally Friendly Development, Ethical Travel, International Rankings on August 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Ethical Traveler has named Costa Rica one of “The Developing World’s Ten Best Ethical Destinations for 2008.” Ethical Traveler developed its list by examining environmental protection, social welfare and human rights in developing nations throughout the world. The group looked at not only current programs and policies, but at past initiatives and conditions in order [...]
IDB Finances Sustainable Development along Panamanian Border
Posted in Costa Rica Developments, International Relations, tagged IDB, Sixaola, Sustainable Development on August 4, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
“President Oscar Arias this week signed a $9.2 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) that will be used to finance sustainable development projects in the Sixaola River Basin on the Panama border. Costa Rica will contribute an additional $2.8 million to the effort, for a total budget of $12 million. (The Tico Times, [...]
US Subprime Issues Mark Return to Buyer’s Market in Costa Rica
Posted in Costa Rica Real Estate, International Relations, tagged Costa Rican Economy on July 2, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Given the close economic ties between the two nations, it is unsurprising that the subprime mortgage crisis and attendant economic instability in the United States is having an effect on Costa Rica’s economy and real estate market as well. In an interview earlier this year, Central Bank president Francisco de Paula described Costa Rica’s overall [...]
New US Ambassador to Promote Trade, Investment and Tourism
Posted in International Relations, tagged Diplomacy, US Embassy on June 16, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
A new US Ambassador to Costa Rica was sworn in on May 8. Peter E. Cianchette, of Maine, said he intends to focus on strengthening trade between Costa Rica and the United States. The 56th US Ambassador to Costa Rica, Mr. Cianchette presented his credentials to President Oscar Arias and Minister of the Presidency Rodrigo [...]
Foreign Investment in Latin America Reached Record High in 2007
Posted in International Relations, tagged Economy, Finance, Investment on June 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean reports that foreign investment in Latin America and the Caribbean reached a record high in 2007, with capital flow into the region surpassing the US$100 billion mark for the first time ever. ECLAC attributes the nearly US$106 billion in foreign direct investment to economic [...]
Global Peace Index Ranks Costa Rica One of the Most Peaceful Nations in the Americas
Posted in International Relations, tagged International Relations on May 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The Global Peace Index is a yearly initiative to rank the nations of the world based on their relative states of peace. Calculated by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the GPI takes into account 24 qualitative and quantitative indicators that the project website describes as “internal and external factors ranging from a nation’s level of military [...]
U.S. – Costa Rica Relations
Posted in Costa Rican Law, International Relations, tagged International Realations, U.S. on April 28, 2008 | 1 Comment »
The United States and Costa Rica have shared close and peaceful relations for much of the past. Both countries have benefited from a friendly rapport, furthering the appeal of foreign investment into thriving industries, such as real estate development and agricultural production. According to a January 2008 report by the U.S. Department of State, nearly [...]
