Venezuela Productiva 2030 is a meeting space for the country’s productive sectors to build a sustainable economy. Photo: UNDP Press.
Guacamaya, October 23, 2025. For three days, more than 100 companies, 45 panelists, and representatives from the public, private, and academic sectors, as well as international cooperation, are meeting at the Hotel Renaissance La Castellana in Caracas to promote the country’s sustainable productivity. The event is organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Venezuelan Chamber of the Food Industry (CAVIDEA), and the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF).
From October 22 to 24, the Venezuela Productiva 2030 Business Forum is established as a platform for dialogue and cooperation to strengthen the national business fabric, promote sustainable value chains, and foster strategic alliances in favor of economic, social, and environmental development.
The event combines keynote conferences, business rounds, networking spaces, and a commercial exhibition, with the participation of more than a hundred companies and organizations.
As part of the event, the National Venezuela Productiva 2030 Award is also presented, recognizing projects with a positive impact on local communities. More than 100 proposals were submitted by companies, universities, local governments, and civil society organizations.
CAF: “Development Based on Innovation, Integration, and Culture”
Marisol Barrera, senior advisor of CAF in Venezuela, highlighted the organization’s commitment to sustainable growth:
“A transformation that involves humanizing and representing the words of the national style based on innovation, sovereignty, integration, and culture. We celebrate this initiative because it reflects what we deeply believe: development that is built with the participation of all sectors. We work to strengthen institutional opportunities, promote public innovation, and facilitate the launch of projects with an impact on our communities. We also promote the Green Bank, as a show of our commitment to climate action and green growth from business management.”
UNDP: “Productivity and Innovation are the Forces of a New Economic Ecosystem”
The UNDP Resident Representative in Venezuela, Luis Francisco Thais Santa Cruz, underlined that development must translate into real opportunities for people:
“True development occurs when its effects are inclusive and sustainable, when every part of the economy generates real opportunities. At UNDP, we share the vision of a productive, inclusive, and sustainable Venezuela. We support the efforts of a country that bets on innovation, green growth, and international cooperation as pillars of national productivity.”
Thais Santa Cruz highlighted the importance of gender equality in the Venezuelan economy:
“When women participate fully in the economy, greater diversity and adaptability are achieved. Gender equality is not just a social goal; it is a productive force. A more equitable Venezuela will undoubtedly be a more prosperous Venezuela.”
Furthermore, the UNDP representative mentioned the progress of the Supplier Development Program, which has already benefited more than 6,000 workers across the country:
“33% of the beneficiaries belong to small business networks and 13% to youth entrepreneurship ventures. Our goal is to strengthen capacities in areas such as financing, operations, human talent, communication, and technological innovation.”
Finally, he highlighted the cooperation with the Project for the Conservation and Development of the Procedures of the Lake Maracaibo Basin, funded with three million dollars:
“This is the first time that Venezuela acts as the executing agent for this type of environmental project. It marks a milestone in the sustainable management of water and reflects international confidence in the country’s capabilities.”
Delcy Rodríguez, Vice President of Venezuela: “The Venezuelan Economic Miracle is Based on National Production”
The Executive Vice President of the Republic, Delcy Rodríguez, highlighted recent economic advances and the import substitution policy as axes of national productive growth:
“Economic growth is today a constitutive dimension of emergency. Venezuela has demonstrated its capacity, its performance, and its will to move forward with its workers and businesspeople. No one has managed to break the country’s economic or political stability. External aggressions have only served to strengthen our own productive model.”
Rodríguez stated that the Government’s economic policy seeks to protect national production and foster economic sovereignty:
“We are seeing a recovery in key sectors: vegetable production has grown by 21%, cocoa by 8%, rice by 17%, and corn and peanuts by 32%. These results are the fruit of the joint effort between the State, producers, and rural communities.”
The Vice President insisted that import substitution and the strengthening of the agricultural and industrial economy are essential for the country’s sustainable development:
“National production is the path to economic independence. Venezuela today ranks among the top ten countries with the highest entrepreneurship in the world, a testament to the creativity and resilience of its people.”
She also referred to and sent a message to the government of Trinidad and Tobago, which she described as being operated and directed by the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. Rodríguez stated that:
“without Venezuelan gas, Trinidad’s economy will collapse, and that will have effects throughout the Caribbean. The United States destroyed initiatives like Petrocaribe.” She urged the government of Trinidad and Tobago to stop deceiving itself with what she calls the “lies from Washington.”
Diplomacy and International Cooperation
The event was attended by members of the diplomatic corps accredited in Venezuela, including representatives from the European Union and the embassies of India, Switzerland, and Libya, to mention some of the attendees.
