The Diplomat
The Embassy of Equatorial Guinea in Madrid has initiated contacts with Spanish business organizations with the aim of creating a Chamber of Commerce of the African country in Spain.
The Ambassador of Equatorial Guinea, Miguel Edjang Angue, met last Wednesday with the President of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, José Luis Bonet, to whom he asked for support for the implementation of the Chamber of Commerce of Equatorial Guinea in Spain “in order to promote interaction between Spanish companies with interest in Equatorial Guinea and Equatoguinean companies based in Spain”, according to the Embassy.
During the meeting, held at the headquarters of the Chamber of Commerce, the ambassador informed Bonet about “the main axes of the first and second development strategy of the country”, known as Horizon 2020 and Horizon 2035, and about the investments made by the Government of Malabo in the infrastructure sector, after which he invited Spanish businessmen to invest in the African country. For his part, Bonet assured that it would be “an honor” for him to collaborate in the creation of a Chamber of Commerce of Equatorial Guinea in Spain and expressed his wish that the institution that he himself heads be “the host at the inauguration in Madrid of the Equatorial Guinean Chamber”.
The Ambassador’s efforts began last February 25, when he was received by the president of the international area of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE), Marta Blanco, to whom he informed of the Embassy’s interest in creating a Chamber of Commerce in Spain to serve as “a catalyst for trade relations between Spain and Equatorial Guinea”. For this reason, he requested the support, collaboration and advice of the CEOE to carry out the initiative and the participation of Spanish businessmen and their associations in this project. In response, Blanco expressed his “full willingness” to collaborate in the success of the Equatoguinean Chamber.
During this same meeting, the ambassador explained to the president of CEOE International the new economic and social development plan 2020-2035 (Horizon2020-2035) launched by the regime of Teodoro Obiang Nguema to mitigate the effects of the depletion of resources from hydrocarbons and expressed to Blanco the interest of the Government of Malabo in increasing the presence of Spanish companies in Equatorial Guinea to “accompany the country in these development efforts, through instruments outside and within the framework of cooperation between Spain and Equatorial Guinea”.