- Investors and buyers from 45 countries are participating this week in the most relevant business event in the region.
- The Summit marks a new chapter in Costa Rica’s global strategy to attract investment and promote exports.
SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica, Sept. 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — This week, Costa Rica is hosting the Costa Rica Trade & Investment Summit 2025, a high-level event that brings together the most influential players in international trade and investment in one place. Organized by the Trade and Investment Promotion Agency of Costa Rica (PROCOMER), this gathering marks a milestone by integrating exports and foreign direct investment into a single space for the first time.
Over the course of five days, more than 1,000 Costa Rican and multinational companies will meet with 400 international buyers and investors from 45 countries, in a multisector agenda that includes more than 3,700 business meetings, investment rounds, visits to business parks, and networking opportunities.
“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,” said Laura López, General Manager of PROCOMER.
This gathering also represents the evolution of the historic Buyers Trade Mission (BTM), an event that for more than 25 years connected thousands of Costa Rican exporting companies with international buyers. Today, under a more robust and far-reaching format, the Costa Rica Trade & Investment Summit consolidates export promotion and foreign direct investment attraction into a single platform.
The opening ceremony featured the participation of Manuel Tovar, Minister of Foreign Trade, and Laura López, General Manager of PROCOMER, along with international delegations and representatives of the business sector.
Participants come from key markets such as Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan, India, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Spain, France, and Central America. In addition, the academic agenda includes lectures by global leaders such as:
- Didi Caldwell (Global Location Strategies): Economic forces and their impact on the future of FDI
- Katie McGinty (Johnson Controls): Smart buildings: the business case for growth through sustainability
- Henry Loewendahl (Wavteq): The future of work
- María Carolina Pinheiro (Wyndham Hotels): Participation in the tourism investment segment
Country potential: a strategy delivering results
As of July 2025, Costa Rica’s goods exports reached $13.148 billion, representing a 17% growth compared to the same period in the previous year. The main driver continues to be the precision and medical equipment sector, accounting for 48% of total exports, followed by the agricultural sector (17%) and the food sector (12%).
Costa Rica is home to more than 1,000 multinational companies operating in strategic sectors such as medical devices, corporate services, advanced manufacturing, and digital technologies. The country also consolidates its position as a reliable supplier of high-quality foods: it is the world’s largest exporter of pineapples, the third-largest exporter of bananas, and the leading exporter of cassava to the U.S. and the EU.
In terms of foreign direct investment, the country stands out for its high reinvestment of profits and the sustained growth of projects outside the Greater Metropolitan Area. In 2024, total FDI reached $5.008 billion, representing a 32% growth compared to 2023, with the United States, Colombia, Switzerland, Mexico, and France as the main countries of origin of the capital.
“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,” concluded Laura López, General Manager of PROCOMER.