President Alberto Fernandez held a meeting this afternoon with the CEO of Google, Sundar Pichaiwho announced a company investment commitment of 1,200 million dollars to drive digital transformation in Latin America
The meeting was held at 12:30 pm in Los Angeles -4:30 pm in Argentina-, within the framework of the participation of the Head of State in the IX Summit of the Americaswhich ends tomorrow.
During the meeting, which took place in the meeting room of the Intercontinental Hotel, the director of the technology firm informed the Argentine president about the company’s commitment to promote digital transformation in Latin America through a five-year plan , which will require an investment of 1,200 million dollars, “of which a part is being planned to be channeled in Argentina,” sources from the Presidency told Télam.
?@Google will invest US$1.2 billion in Latin America to strengthen connectivity in the region and empower SMEs. A great boost for Argentine development.
It was announced to me today by your CEO, @sundarpichai in the meeting we had in the framework of the IX #SummitOfTheAmericas. pic.twitter.com/HJ8yA2AeHI
– Alberto Fernández (@alferdez) June 9, 2022
Investment in the country is “for strengthen connectivity, cloud and technology platforms for small and medium-sized companies,” the sources indicated, and “regional plans” were also mentioned, although the amount allocated to Argentina was not specified.
As part of the measure, Google is developing an international submarine cable called Firmina, which will link the East Coast of the United States with the town of Las Toninas, in the Partido de La Costa, in the province of Buenos Aires, starting in 2023.
The commitment, which will seek support the economic recovery in the region after the crisis caused by the pandemic coronavirus Covid-19, has four central points based on digital infrastructure, talent training and digital skills; entrepreneurial ecosystem and communities.
Through the announcement of investment in the region, Google plans to increase the engineering force in Brazil and allocate 300 million dollars to support Non-Governmental Organizations focused on sustainability areas throughout the continent, and will award one million scholarships for Certificates Google Career Program in order to promote the development of digital talent in the region.
The head of state was accompanied during the audience by the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Serge Massa; Secretary for Strategic Affairs Gustavo Beliz; the spokesperson for the Presidency, Gabriela Ceruti; and the Argentine ambassador to the United States, Jorge Arguello.
Meanwhile, on behalf of Google, the Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Policy, Karan Bhatia; the senior director of Government Affairs, Public Policy and Emerging Markets, Doron Avni; and the senior manager for Government Affairs and Public Policies for the Southern Cone, Eleonora Rabinovich.
In addition, Fernández and Pichai reviewed the lines of work that the company carries out in Argentina and that include the Hiring 285 people directly in the offices that Google has had for 15 years in the City of Buenos Aires.
On the other hand, the President explained to the manager that the national Government has a work agenda that seeks to achieve innovation in government management with information technologies, in a secure and federal manner, which in turn promotes transparency, open data and training in digital skills.
The Knowledge-Based Services sector was the fourth export complex in Argentina in 2021, reaching an amount of 6,600 million dollars, which represents 5.4 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product.
In addition, it has 500 companies in the field and 11 unicorns, Mercadolibre, Despegar, Globant, OLX, Auth0, Vercel, Aleph Holding, Mural, Bitfarms, Ualá and TiendaNube.
In October 2020, Fernández enacted the Knowledge Economy Law, which seeks to encourage the generation of new ventures or improvements to the services provided by these technology companies, with the promotion of tax benefits that are granted on a segmented basis.
The activities included are the software industry; audiovisual production in digital format; biotechnology, bioinformatics and genetic engineering; nanotechnology and nanoscience; aerospace and satellite industry; and engineering for the nuclear industry.
