The Diplomat
His Majesty the King yesterday presented the ‘Enrique V. Iglesias Award for the development of the Business Space’ to Mexican businessman Carlos Slim, Chairman of Grupo Carso.
The award, now in its ninth year, was instituted by the Business Council Alliance for Ibero-America (CEAPI), and recognises the contribution of the award winners to the economic and social development of Ibero-America and the strengthening of ties between the countries that make up this space.
The award ceremony, which took place at the Zarzuela Palace, was attended by high-ranking institutional and business representatives, including the President of Banco Santander, Ana Botín, who received the award two years ago; the Ibero-American Secretary General (SEGIB), Andrés Allamand; the former Prime Minister of Spain, Felipe González; the President of CEOE, Antonio Garamendi; the President of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, José Luis Bonet I Ferrer; the Secretary General of the Organisation of Ibero-American States (OEI), Mariano Jabonero; the Honorary President of El País, Juan Luis Cebrián; the President of the Advisory Board of Atrevia, Antonio Fernández-Galiano; and the Mexican Ambassador to Spain, Quirino Ordaz.
During the ceremony, the President of CEAPI, Núria Vilanova, thanked Don Felipe for presiding over the award ceremony, stressing that the Monarch is “an example of commitment, courage, effort, renunciation, project, purpose, love and family”, as well as “a tireless ally who works for the union of Spain and the rest of the region, where his efforts are recognised and where he is much loved and admired”.
Núria Vilanova stressed that it is “a prize unlike any other, because of His Majesty’s generosity in inviting us to experience it with his family and in the Palace, and Carlos’s generosity in sharing the prize and his life with those he loves”. He added that “it was very easy for the jury to deliberate”, because, he said, “Carlos Slim is an example in the business world; his commitment to technology has led him to have telecommunications companies in Latin America, Europe, Africa and the Philippines”.
After welcoming the businessman as a member of CEAPI, Vilanova read a few words from the organisation’s honorary president, Enrique V. Iglesias, who could not be present, in which he said: “Few Ibero-American businessmen could be more deserving of this recognition than Carlos Slim, whose friendship has honoured me for many years. I was thus able to follow and learn about the support of his companies for the economic and social development of Mexico and Ibero-America.
On receiving the award, Carlos Slim stressed that “poverty, marginalisation and ignorance have always been ethical and social justice problems, but today they are an economic necessity, so the best public and private investment is to combat poverty and incorporate the marginalised population into education, health and increasingly better paid employment”.
In his speech, Slim expressed his gratitude for the award, saying: “I am grateful for the honourable distinction that CEAPI has done me the favour of bestowing on me, which bears the name of my dear and admired friend Enrique V. Iglesias, an award that I receive on behalf of myself, my family, 69,000 FCC employees in Spain and in numerous countries, and on behalf of the Group’s 290,000 staff, which began in Mexico in 1965 with eight people”.
The businessman highlighted the legacy that Spain left in Mexico during the three centuries of the colonial period and hoped that the association between the two countries could become “very strong” again in the short term. Slim also advocated strengthening the bilateral relationship.
Afterwards, a lunch was held at the Teatro Real, which was attended by several Ibero-American ambassadors, such as those of Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia and El Salvador, and other personalities, including former Prime Minister José María Aznar.
Since 2014, the award recognises business figures from the Ibero-American Community who stand out for their relevant and extraordinary contribution to the development of the countries in the region and to the promotion of ties between the nations of the Community through economic activity, investment and trade promotion, as well as to the forging of a more inclusive and sustainable region. Mexican businessman Valentín Diez Morodo was the first to receive the distinction, which in subsequent editions has recognised Colombian banker, builder and philanthropist Luis Carlos Sarmiento; the late Spanish-Mexican founder of Grupo VIPS, Plácido Arango; the president of Pan-America Energy Group, Alejandro Bulgheroni; the former president of CAF, Enrique García, and the president of Copa Holdings, the Panamanian Stanley Motta; and the executive president of Grupo Santander, Ana Botín, the first woman to receive the title. The president of the Colombian business and banking conglomerate Grupo Gilinski, Jaime Gilinski, also received this award in the previous edition.
