This past November 19th, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the fourth and fifth reviews of Nicaraguas economic performance under the three-year Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and approved an extension of the arrangement through December 4, 2011. This is big news for Nicaragua, as well as for the international community. The fact that the worlds authority on macroeconomic stability gave Nicaragua a pat on the back ensures spectators that the country has been implementing sound economic policies for the last couple of years, which have guaranteed the continuity of the program.

Mr. Murilo Portugal, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Board Chair of the IMF, said the Nicaraguan economy is recovering gradually from the effects of the global financial crisis. The pickup in activity in 2010 has been broad based and balanced, exports are growing faster than anticipated, and the financial system remains stable and liquid. Real GDP growth is expected to reach 3 percent this year and the balance-of-payments position has improved. The authorities strengthened their economic program for the remainder of this year and for 2011 to mitigate risks, protect the external position, and pave the way for further fiscal consolidation.

Lets talk numbers now. On foreign trade, according to Nicaraguas Center for Export Procedures (CETREX, for its acronym in Spanish), the countrys exports reached nearly US$1,583 million by the end of October 2010, up by 28% when compared to the US$1,236 million registered during the same period last year. Regarding the countrys economic growth, the IMFs real GDP growth estimate for Nicaragua rose from 2.5% to 3% this past October after seeing the countrys dynamic recovery. Currently, Nicaraguas International Reserves cover over 2.2 times (IMF requirement) the countrys monetary base. In terms of tourism, expectations from the Nicaraguan Tourism Board (INTUR, for its acronym in Spanish) are of record-setting one million tourists and over US$400 million in receipts by the end of 2010, a growth of nearly 7% and 16%, respectively, compared to last year. FDI is expected to grow around 15% during 2010, reaching approximately US$500 million, mainly as a result of large-scale investment projects in the renewable energy sector.

Additionally, the 2011 Doing Business Report, published by the World Bank, recently ranked Nicaragua as the top location in Central America in the categories of starting a business, protecting investors and closing a business. Moreover, Nicaraguas position improved in the following categories: ease of doing business, registering property, paying taxes, trading across borders and enforcing contracts.

Although some might argue that Nicaraguas economy is struggling, the numbers above and the IMFs endorsement prove otherwise. This reality offers potential investors the confidence that its safe to invest in Nicaragua. Weve had some prestigious companies recently announce large investment projects in the country, including geothermal company Ram Power, world-renowned BPO company Sitel, Brazilian consortium Queiroz Galvao and German autopart manufacturer Draexlmaier, which further proves our point: Nicaraguas economy is doing just fine!

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Recently, theres been frenzy in the media regarding alleged territorial disputes between Nicaragua and Costa Rica along the San Juan River. Although much has been said, wed like to provide objective, factual information in order to shed some light on this issue and inform the public on Nicaraguas position.

First of all, there is no doubt the San Juan River belongs to Nicaragua, as dictated by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on July 13th, 2009. Although Nicaragua holds all rights over the river, through this same verdict Costa Rica was recognized its right to navigate for commercial purposes the area of the river whose south edge served as a border between the countries in 1858. The aforementioned sentence also clearly states that Nicaragua has the right to dredge the San Juan River in order to re-establish the water flow existent in 1858, even when it affects the flow of water of other river mouths, such as the Colorado River.

In 1858, the CaasJerez Treaty established the border limits between Nicaragua and Costa Rica along the San Juan River. However, the rivers original course has been changing since the signing of the treaty due to the drying up of this historic river, and the geography in the area has been transformed. As a consequence, Costa Rica appears to have gained territory, in particular an island of approximately 25 thousand square feet called Harbor Head; however, this is politically incorrect. The Alexander and Cleveland Agreements, which in addition to the Caas-Jerez Treaty precisely define the border and have all been accepted by both countries, grant Nicaragua total rights over Harbor Head, which Costa Rica now intends to call Calero Island and claims has been illegally occupied by Nicaragua.

The current presence of Nicaraguan military personnel in the island has the objective of protecting dredging activities in the area and also to fight drug trafficking actions along the border. They in no way represent intention of hostility or a threat to Costa Rica and its citizens, moreover, Daniel Ortega, President of Nicaragua, has publicly announced its commitment to a peaceful resolution of this dispute through the corresponding international organizations.

Costa Rica has already requested the Organization of American States (OAS) to intervene in this issue; however, the OAS is not mandated to mediate in border conflicts between countries. The proper international organization to address this matter would be the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, which is what Nicaragua has openly proposed to Costa Rica in order to resolve the current dispute, but has received no answer from the latter.

Even more so, President Ortega has proposed that both countries, through a bi-national committee, put into place boundary markers in order to clearly define the limits between the territories, but there has been no response on behalf of Costa Rica. Between 1994 and 2004, technical teams from both countries agreed on 136 markers to establish the western part of the border, but Costa Rica has only been willing to officially ratify 17 of those it had co-established itself, raising concerns about its commitment to this process.

Nicaragua has acted within its rights and sovereignty to guarantee its territorys integrity, legally established through past bi-national agreements signed by both parties. Nicaragua has not and does not intend to violate foreign territory or engage in an international conflict, on the contrary, President Ortega has emphasized Nicaragua will settle this issue through peaceful, diplomatic means, therefore contributing to the ongoing effort to develop respectful relations with all countries and work towards the regions unity. Unfortunately, Costa Rica has presented the case as a conflict instead of as a border dispute, although in reality there has not been any physical confrontation between the countries.

Back in May when Survivor announced that its 21st season would be filmed in Nicaragua, expectations started rising. Now, halfway through the season, one cant help but wonder what the Emmy award-winning reality TV show has done for Nicaragua.

Lets talk about immediate impact. US$6 million is how much the Survivor production invested in Nicaragua during the filming of the season, which includes logistics, transportation, lodging, food, production costs and more. Thats a lot of money for a country like ours and especially for a small town like San Juan del Sur, where most of the filming was done. The producers also hired nearly 200 local people during the development of the show in Nicaragua. Theres the obvious benefit of salaries, but even more important is the unique opportunity to work with a really successful international production company, thats experience no one can take from you.

More on the long run, ever since the season began, an average of 13 million U.S. households have been bombarded with the name Survivor: Nicaragua and the countrys spectacular natural beauty, generating widespread exposure for the country of incalculable promotional value. Thats without taking into account the over 150 countries where the show will be re-broadcast. Additionally, theres the media buzz. The show has generated numerous news articles (7,700+) around the world as the season unfolds and many reporters have also deemed appropriate to write about Nicaragua and give the audience some background and insights on how this small and relatively unknown country caught the Survivor producers attention. So, this means that youre gonna have a large number of people asking themselves whats the deal with Nicaragua? and looking up the country on Google and Wikipedia. We find this extremely positive. Now, these people arent coming to the country as tourists next week, but weve entered their minds and have a better chance of having them as visitors sometime in the future, when the odds before were probably zero.

This will certainly continue to fuel the growth of Nicaraguas tourism industry, which has had a 6.8% jump in receipts and 10% in arrivals between January and August 2010 when compared to the same period last year, according to preliminary statistics of the Nicaraguan Tourism Board. Additionally, Nicaragua was the only country in Central America to report positive growth in arrivals and receipts during 2009.

The fact that Survivor chose Nicaragua as the location for its 21st season is more than an endorsement for the country, which offers the highest levels of personal safety in Central America (according to CID Gallup), government support for these kind of projects, amazing outdoors (over 720km of coastline, tropical rainforests, colonial cities, active volcanoes, etc.), hospitable people and an excellent quality of life. As Leisa Francis, co-executive producer of Survivor, so perfectly put it, the spotlight is on Nicaragua and is making people stop and think and take a closer look at the country. By doing so, they will begin to discard misperceptions from the past and discover Nicaraguas true potential for tourism and investment as well.

So things are looking good for Nicaragua and we know theres still more to come. In this case, the one million dollar question is: who will win Survivor: Nicaragua?

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There is no denying there is something amazing going on in Nicaragua. Recently, the country has been on the public eye as announcements are made of large-scale investment projects being developed and big hit international reality shows being filmed, while tourism figures continue resilient despite last years economic downturn.

The country has definitely demonstrated its appeal as an investment destination: 2009 FDI figures approached US$434 million, concentrated mainly in the Energy, Free Zones and Telecommunications sectors. Though it represents a 31% decrease in relation to 2008, it may still be considered a positive result if compared to the regions average decrease of 33%, with countries like Honduras and El Salvador experiencing drastic drops of up to 45%.

This appeal is further confirmed by two recent announcements of investments in the country. First, the Mexican export company Grupo Denim opened a new manufacturing facility in Managua of over 13,500m2, which required an investment of approximately US$21 million and is currently generating nearly 900 direct jobs. Secondly, Stream Global Services Inc., a leader in the outsourcing of complex business processes, invested nearly US$2.7 million in its facilities in the Ofiplaza building in Managua, where it currently employs up to 600 people with state-of-the-art telecom equipment. Both companies have expressed their intentions to expand their operations in Nicaragua and increase the number employees in the near future. Furthermore, other international companies related to the business services outsourcing, apparel and renewable energy sectors, have also confirmed their interest in developing investment projects in the country.

Now, in terms of tourism, Nicaragua continues to surprise skeptics who doubted the countrys untapped potential to captivate even the most demanding visitor. Statistics from the Nicaraguan Tourism Board (INTUR, for its acronym in Spanish) for 2009 indicate the country was the only destination in the region to grow in both tourism arrivals (+8.6%) and tourism revenues (+25%) when compared to 2008. These figures are truly astounding if we consider the international crisis of 09, which severely decelerated the tourism industries of other Central American countries, including the traditional strong player Costa Rica. Moreover, the industrys preliminary statistics up to May 2010 maintain the upward trend: +9.1% in arrivals and +11.2% in revenues.

And it doesnt end there, CBS also announced this past May in New York City that Nicaragua has been chosen as the next location for the filming of the Emmy Award-winning reality television series Survivor. The beaches on Nicaragua’s southern pacific coast will become the new scenario of one of TV’s most successful shows for its 21st season, after a careful selection process on behalf of the producers, which included evaluating the country’s capacity to host a show of this magnitude. Also, earlier this year, other prestigious reality shows have filmed in Nicaragua, including House Hunters International, Italys Celebrity Island and Spains Supervivientes.

So, what else is there to say? The word about Nicaragua is out there and we have high expectations of what is becoming a promising 2010.

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