The Diplomat
On December 16, the Spain-Brazil Council Foundation held its General Meeting of Trustees in 2021, which brought together various sectors and areas, such as government, business, administration and entities, with the common purpose of improving the relationship between the two countries in 2022.
During the meeting, the Council Foundation approved the incorporation of the Secretary of State for Ibero-America, the Caribbean and Spanish in the World, Juan Fernández Trigo, to the Board of Trustees. During his speech as a new trustee of the Foundation, the Secretary of State said that Brazil is a strategic partner for Spain in the political, economic and social spheres and therefore defended the need to strengthen bilateral relations, especially through the implementation of the Bilateral Commission, which is planned and will be essential to deepen the main common interests. He also recalled two events that will mark the political and institutional agenda of Brazil next year: the October elections and the celebration, in September, of the Bicentenary of the country’s Independence.
During the meeting, which was attended by its chairman, Antonio Huertas, president of Mapfre; the director general of Economic Diplomacy, Ana Esmeralda Martínez; and the deputy director general of Ibero-America and North America of the Secretary of State for Trade, Javier Sanz, among others, also approved the incorporation of the non-executive president of Red Eléctrica Española, Beatriz Corredor, to the Board of Trustees; and the director of Casa América, Enrique Ojeda, who informed that the institution is preparing for 2022 a special program on Brazil on the occasion of the Bicentennial of its Independence.
“Spanish companies are global leaders in many of their fields and are ambassadors of Spain in the countries in which they operate,” stated the Fundación Consejo. “In turn, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs deploys an economic diplomacy with specific and beneficial mechanisms for companies, which help to strengthen ties with countries considered strategic,” it continued. “The union, therefore, of government and business interests is natural and offers a unique dimension to enhance the scope of their actions,” it added.
