New Investment and Export Promotion Agency in El Salvador

By Eproint

The Investment and Export Promotion Agency of El Salvador was approved by the Legislative Assembly on June 20, 2023. The agency will replace PROESA, which was created in 1990.

Called INVEST, it will have a broader mandate than PROESA, and will be responsible for promoting, coordinating, and articulating the national public-private system for fostering, facilitating, and maintaining the country's economic development. This includes promoting and attracting domestic and foreign private investment, as well as accessing new markets, export destinations, and manufacturing locations.

The creation of the agency looks to step up El Salvador's economic development. 

Some key points of the law are:

It will be a public legal entity with budgetary autonomy, legal personality, and its own assets.
The council of this institution will be composed of a president, representatives from the Ministry of Tourism (MITUR), the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy (MINEC), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the business sector.
Among the objectives of the law is the creation of well-paid employment opportunities and economic growth, for which it is necessary to generate a favorable investment climate by eliminating red tape and streamlining processes at borders and seaports.

For a deep and fruitful development, it’s important that INVEST supports businesses to protect their intellectual property rights in El Salvador by providing information about the legal framework for intellectual property protection, and by connecting businesses with lawyers and other professionals who can help them to register and enforce their rights.

INVEST can also help businesses to promote their intellectual property assets to potential investors by providing businesses with information about the Salvadoran market for intellectual property, and can help them to develop strategies to attract investment in their intellectual property.