June 3, 2020: King Felipe chaired the meeting "More Ibero-America, our common company" of the Ibero-American Business Council
The meeting that was attended by 23 presidents of business organizations of CEIB-OIE and SEGIB and by the Ibero-American Secretary General, Rebeca Grynspan; the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Reyes Maroto; the president of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE), Antonio Garamendi; the president of the International Organization of Employers (OIE), Erol Kiresepi, and the president of the Council of Ibero-American Entrepreneurs (CEIB) and of the Andorran Business Confederation (CEA), Gerard Cadena and aimed to strengthen and support the business fabric of Latin America and listen to their vision of the new challenges that the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has presented.
It was the first meeting - and the highest level - held by Ibero-American authorities and business organizations since the start of the crisis. During the meeting, the presidents analyzed the priorities of the companies to emerge stronger after the crisis and the role that their organizations are fulfilling in the common objective of reinforcing and promoting Ibero-America, especially in these difficult times.
The leaders agreed that it is time to join forces and undertake a crusade for investment promoted from the highest level to get out of the crisis.
During his intervention, the King stressed that “we need a more united Ibero-America, with greater ambition; an Ibero-America much more aware of its links and opportunities as one of the great regions of the future, which is grounded and sustained by factors as evident as our human capital - the most educated generations in our history - and advantages such as its natural resources; but, above all, for a shared culture and a fundamental element that unites us: our great related languages, Spanish and Portuguese ”.
Don Felipe reminded the attendees that due to the common past and present, the cultural and economic relations of the Region are and will always be very strong, and "now I add that they should be even more so in situations of extreme difficulty such as the one we are currently experiencing, due to to this global pandemic ”and added that as the evolution of this health crisis and the spread of the virus is not parallel in time in our countries,“ I believe that the experience accumulated by our institutions and professionals in recent months can be useful to you. As a brother country, we are at your disposal to collaborate in these complex and painful moments ”.
Before finishing his intervention, HM the King stressed the importance of continuing to work for the continuity of all this great work and its empowerment, as well as for the defense of an open economy, in which exchanges allow all agents to benefit from international specialization and global value chains. And in this way, employers will continue to carry out fundamental work for the benefit of society as a whole, creating wealth and generating jobs in all of our countries”.
For her part, the Ibero-American Secretary General, Rebeca Grynspan, highlighted the importance of "committed leadership and social dialogue" in these difficult times and called for "a new social pact that will serve not only to get out of this crisis, but also to enter a more promising, just and resilient future.”
During his speech, Antonio Garamendi, President of the CEOE, thanked HM the King for his presence at the meeting: “It shows the strong support for the strategic relationship between our countries and their companies, always helping to build bridges between the economies and cultures”.
In turn, the President of the OIE, Erol Kiresepi, highlighted that “opportunities have emerged for digitization, innovation, for investments in research, science and technology, for productive linkages and access to new markets”.
Finally, the president of the CEA, Gerard Cadena, assured that “cooperation, open innovation and the entire multilateral architecture must be reinforced; in other words, Latin America must come out reinforced”.
The presidents of the CEIB-OIE Andorra member organizations (CEA), Gerard Cadena, participated in the meeting; Argentina (UIA), Miguel A. Acevedo; Bolivia (CEPB), Luis Fernando Barbery; Chile (CPC), Juan Sutil; Colombia (ANDI), Bruce Mac Master; Costa Rica (UCCAEP), Álvaro Sáenz; Ecuador (CIG and CIP), Caterina Costa and Pablo Zambrano; El Salvador (ANEP), Javier Ernesto Siman; Spain (CEOE), Antonio Garamendi; Guatemala (CACIF), Nils Leporowski; Honduras (COHEP), Juan Carlos Sakaffi; Mexico (COPARMEX and CONCAMIN), Gustavo de Hoyos and Francisco Cervantes; Nicaragua (COSEP), José Adán; Panama (CONEP), Julio de Lastra; Paraguay (FEPRINCO), Gustavo Volpe; Peru (CONFIEP), María Isabel León de Céspedes; Portugal (CIP), Antonio Saraiva; Dominican Republic (COPARDOM), Juan Alfredo de la Cruz; Uruguay (CNCS and CIU),Julio Lestido and Gabriel Murara, and Venezuela (FEDECÁMARAS), Ricardo Cusanno.
