Thirty-nine-year-old Carlos Alvarado is the youngest president of Costa Rica in the past 100 years. He started his career as a journalist and served as Minister of Labor and Social Affairs until he succeeded in running for president. He was inaugurated in May 2018.

His experience as a journalist helped him develop leadership and played a special role in helping him lead the county.

Costa Rica is the first country in Central America that signed a free trade agreement with China back in 2011. Because of the tremendous benefits of economic and trade cooperation with China, President Alvarado hopes to upgrade Sino-Costa Rican cooperation to a new stage.

Q: Please briefly introduce yourself to readers.

A: My name is Carlos Alvarado. I'm the president of Costa Rica. I'm a journalist and I am also trained in political science. I was Minister of Labor in Costa Rica and Minister of Social Affairs. I'm 39 years old and the youngest president in the last 100 years in Costa Rica.

Q: As the youngest-serving Costa Rican president since 1914 , what do you think about leadership?

A: I think leadership is about inspiring people. It's about results, confidence, making a positive change. That's the way I try to handle the way I lead. Also, I strongly believe in teamwork. I rely a lot on my cabinet and on my staff because leading is also empowering others to do the right thing.

Q: What prompted you to set up a series of difficult reform agendas?

A: In order for a country to move forward and for the benefit of the people it is necessary to trigger reforms. We have ambitious goals, for example our Decarbonization Plan, because we do believe climate change is a threat to our country and to the world. That's why we want to have a decarbonized economy. Also, because we have a renewable, clean electric grid, we can use that for decarbonization.

Also, we do believe education for everybody all around the country is the best way to add value not only to the economy, but the lives of the people.

That's why we have set difficult reforms but also because it's necessary for our country to progress.

Q: Do you think your past career as a reporter is beneficial for leadership? If yes, give some examples.

A: Yes, I do believe that being a reporter has been beneficial to my leadership, especially because when one is a journalist, one needs not only to understand the context but to listen to people. Not only to talk but also to listen; to be able to have the right questions and to address the right question, especially because it exercises the need to listen to others and it has helped me a lot in leading a country.

Q: How do you rely on insight from journalism studies to build leadership?

A: When one is involved in journalism one needs to know lots of things about different fields. One is not necessarily specialized on one or two areas but in many areas. When leading a country one needs to know many things about different areas. That´s why I think that´s also why my background in journalism has helped me to foster that leadership.

Q: What is the unique role of news in building a zero-carbon country?

A: News is very relevant to building a zero-carbon country and also for decarbonization. Why? Because at first hand it might not be clear what the relation is between climate change, economy, decarbonization, poverty or inequality, but all of those are much linked. Creating new green jobs, production and inclusive growth is also linked to, for example, agriculture, climate change, and the knowledge of society. So, news is very relevant because we need to explain to the people why it is so important to engage in all of this. They are all related. At first hand, it might not be that clear but news has a role in wrapping all this reality to all the people.

Q: And what would you do to make use of YGL to make Costa Rica different and better?

A: The World Economic Forum's YGL community is a brilliant platform to change the world and to exchange ideas with other prominent leaders. Also, to encourage young people to trigger change and to engage in relevant discussions about development. I think it's a very important platform to share and to inspire others because the world now needs relevant ideas and actions of the people. I believe this is a great platform to do so.

Q: It is eight years since the Sino-Costa Rican FTA . How are things going? Are you satisfied with the progress?

A: The Free Trade Agreement of China and Costa Rica has already almost eight years. We are satisfied with it because it has benefited both countries, but we want to take it to the next level. There are a great series of products that Costa Rica can offer to China that are waiting for the Chinese to discover. We have one of the best coffees in the world and fresh fruits. Also, we are leaders in exporting medical devices and other appliances. All this variety of products are there waiting to be discovered by the Chinese population. We are looking forward to taking this Free Trade Agreement to the next level so the Chinese can discover all the marvelous things Costa Rica can offer.