The Diplomat
Spanish and Mexican businessmen who took part in the Spain-Mexico Binational Meetings in Madrid this week expressed their confidence that the Spanish Presidency of the European Council, which has just begun, will give impetus to the conclusion of the Global Agreement between the EU and the Aztec country.
The Spain-Mexico Binational Meetings were held from 4 to 7 July at the CEOE headquarters and were attended by more than 2,000 people, including businesspeople from all sectors, political actors, diplomatic representatives and presidents of business organisations, including Spanish employers’ organisations and their committees.
The sessions, held under the theme “Rule of Law and Economic Development. The Spanish experience”, were presented the areas of opportunity for trade with Spain, as well as the trends offered by this country, the programmes and projects that are being implemented, and opportunities in sectors of common interest, such as education, entrepreneurship, health or gender equality, among others.
On the closing day, the Director General of CEOE International and Permanent Secretary of the Ibero-American Business Council (CEIB), Narciso Casado, quoted the President of the Spanish employers’ association, Antonio Garamendi, who in the opening session said that the Meetings “constitute a historic opportunity to send a message of unity and collaboration, and of the commitment that unites businessmen on both sides of the Atlantic in all areas, but above all economically and in business”.
After recalling that, in the sessions, some 40 speakers dealt, among others, with topics such as the ecological transition, digital education and the importance of Spanish, he stressed the importance of dialogue between organisations such as the CEOE and the Confederación Patronal de la República Mexicana (COPARMEX), indicating that “it is not always easy, but on which the prosperity of our countries depends to a large extent”.
Casado added that CEIB has a roadmap that focuses on analysing the priorities of Ibero-America, such as attacking low productivity and labour informality; boosting innovation and digitalisation; promoting infrastructure and the insertion of companies in regional value chains; promoting training and talent retention plans; and supporting the liquidity of SMEs by facilitating access to financing.
For his part, the president of COPARMEX, José Medina Mora, advocated accelerating relations between Mexico and Spain and said that, throughout the conference, it was possible to see “the existing synergies and the strength and good image that Mexico has not only in Spain, but also in Europe”.
In this regard, he called for the Global Agreement between Mexico and the European Union to be signed as soon as possible, because, he said, it would undoubtedly benefit the relationship between the two countries, and expressed his confidence that Spain’s Presidency of the European Council and the forthcoming ratification by the Mexican Senate of the appointment of Alicia Bárcena as Secretary of Foreign Affairs would give impetus to this task.
The closing session was also attended by the President of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce (CAMESCOM), Antonio Basagoiti; the President of the Mexico-Spain Business Association (AEMEES), Ángeles de Miguel; the Economic Counsellor of the Spanish Embassy in Mexico, Álvaro Pastor; the Vice-President of CAMESCOM, José García; the CEO of the Binational Boards of COPARMEX, José Alberto Castro; and the CAMESCOM counsellor, Salomé Fernández.
