The Diplomat
King Philip VI assured yesterday, during the inauguration of the 11th edition of the Spain Investors Day (SID) economic forum in Madrid, that Spain is “a very attractive destination for international investors” and that foreign companies “can rely on Spain, have confidence in Spain, confidence in a modern and solid nation, full of creativity and open to the world”.
“Spain is and will continue to be, without doubt, a preferential investment destination for all your projects”, said the King before the forum, which brings together, for two days, more than 200 international investors from Australia, Belgium, Canada, the United States, the Arab Emirates, Spain, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Switzerland with the main executives from 46 listed Spanish companies, mostly from the Ibex-35 and representative of all the sectors of activity in our country.
“Spanish companies have demonstrated that they have sufficient experience and capacity to face this crisis with guarantees”, continued the monarch, who recalled that Spain is the seventh country in the world with the best infrastructures, which makes our country “a very attractive destination for international investors”, he said during his speech via videoconference.
The King also spoke directly in English to foreign companies established in Spain, which “are also great ambassadors of our country”. “For this reason, what I would like to convey you today is very simple, very clear: you can rely on Spain, have confidence in Spain, confidence in a modern and solid nation, full of creativity and open to the world“, he said.
During the opening of the forum, which has been held in accordance with all health recommendations, the Minister of Industry, Reyes Maroto, said that the priorities of her Ministry for this term of office are “to increase the weight of industry in the Spanish economy, to support SMEs and entrepreneurs, to strengthen both the internationalisation of the Spanish economy and the attractiveness of Spain for foreign investment, and to modernise and strengthen the competitiveness of the tourism sector”. She also highlighted the agreement to have a new General State Budget that includes 27,000 million euros of European funds and which, in his opinion, is “key to facing the future with security, certainty and confidence”.
For his part, José Luis Escrivá, Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, said during the same event that “systemic damage to the Spanish economy has been avoided” and reaffirmed his commitment to “continue to take the necessary measures to protect all workers”, including the effort to create “a more flexible and fairer labour market based on a more productive, inclusive and resilient economy in the long term”. The Mayor of Madrid, José Luís Martínez-Almeida, highlighted the leading role of the capital in the Spanish business ecosystem and said that “Madrid represents 20% of the national GDP and is a global business centre”.
The first day concluded with a conference given by the Fourth Vice-president and Minister for Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, in which she told investors and businesspeople that “the pandemic and the increase in extreme climate phenomena show us to what extent we must think and invest differently for a safer future”. “The best option is to link the response to the economic crisis with the acceleration of climate action and energy transition. Together they constitute a comprehensive programme of economic transformation”, she added. “In the coming years we will experience a transition to a green economy” that “will be a lever to build a stronger and more resilient future for the world”, she said.
The forum will conclude today with a speech by the Third Vice-President and Minister of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, Nadia Calviño, who will explain the Government’s plans for this year to international investors, and will conclude with a closing ceremony in which the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arancha González Laya; the President of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso; the Secretary of State for Trade and President of the ICEX, Xiana Méndez; the Governor of the Bank of Spain, Pablo Hernández de Cos; and the President of the CNMV, Rodrigo Buenaventura, will speak.
