Fonseca also discussed the threat to Belize's BPO sector with the "Keep Call Centers in America Act of 2025" - which is a piece of legislation working its way through the US Senate. It has not yet gotten approval but it has bi-partisan support - and the Minister of Foreign Affairs says it bears watching very closely:
Francis Fonseca, Minister of Foreign Affairs
"No, I think we we we have to, be concerned about it. I think we have to be You know, not scared, but we have to be prepared. Because things are changing. Things are changing. There was a lot of talk for many for the last year or two about AI overtaking that industry. So that was the talk, you have to prepare for it. But of course, now there seems to be bipartisan support for this. "Keep Call Centers in America Bill." So we have to be looking at it. We have to be prepared for it. I know we have discussed it. You know, within the government, we have discussed it. And I know that, the Ministry of Economic Development, the Minister of Finance, has met with the sector. They're having discussions, talking to them about how we can work together, to prepare for any changes that might come. Obviously, this has been an industry that has grown tremendously over the past five years or so. We're up to, I think, 18,000 people employed in that sector."
Jules Vasquez:
"But have you all built, has your administration built its castle in the sand, so to speak, because they the the tremendous unemployment which has been beat in to our heads, really it depends on the continued success of the BPO industry, which we do not control."
Francis Fonseca, Minister of Foreign Affairs
"Yeah, but it's not a castle in the sand. It's an evolving industry. So it's changing like any other industry. And you have to adapt. You have to change. You have to adapt along with it. You know, so we have a very competent team that's looking at this issue. I know minister, Chris Coye works very closely with the BPO sector. So I'm confident that they're on top of it. They're working with them to see what can be done, to make the necessary adjustments, to ensure that that sector continues to thrive and grow."
