<h6><strong>The Diplomat</strong></h6> <h4><strong>Nearly 2,000 businesspeople and fifty Spanish economic and commercial advisors abroad addressed issues such as access to Asian and Latin American markets, the financing instruments available for exports, and the emerging risks that a company with an international focus must consider this Thursday in Madrid.</strong></h4> All these topics were addressed at the second edition of the ICEX 2025 Forum, a working day organized by the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Enterprise, through ICEX Spain Export and Investment (an agency attached to the State Secretariat for Trade), and with the support of the Spanish Export Credit Insurance Company (CESCE) as the sponsor. Throughout the day, more than 50 Spanish economic and commercial advisors abroad held over a thousand personalized interviews with companies to share market intelligence, identify specific opportunities, and guide strategic decisions. The event also included a practical program: more than one hundred speakers participated in ten thematic workshops that addressed topics directly related to the decisions CEOs must make: how to manage geopolitical and financial risks in unstable contexts, how to diversify markets in the midst of a transformation in international trade, how to gain competitiveness through innovation, talent, and intangible assets, and how to better position oneself in key sectors such as agri-food, cultural industries, and industrial scale-ups with a pan-European focus. During the meeting, the Minister of Economy, Trade, and Business, Carlos Cuerpo, emphasized that "the Spanish foreign sector is in good health, thanks to the efforts of thousands of companies that, despite the uncertainty, continue to grow in a changing environment." The culmination of this event was "The Stove of the Markets," a participatory experience in which six economic and commercial advisors from China, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, India, and Italy shared the successful recipes that are working in their respective destinations. In an informal setting, together with chef and entrepreneur Alfonso Fernández-Morro, they explained with real-life examples the ingredients and preparation required to enter and grow in each market. <h5><strong>New ICEX website</strong></h5> During the ICEX Forum, the new portal www.icex.es was also officially presented. It was developed with the aim of expanding the reach and effectiveness of services to companies and significantly improving the accessibility, usability, and personalization of content and services, thanks to functionalities based on Artificial Intelligence. An intelligent registration system allows navigation to be adapted to the specific needs of each user and even anticipates their demands, recommending markets, programs, or solutions that they may not have considered. With a clear structure and intuitive navigation, the website is organized around ICEX's three main areas of activity—exportation, investment attraction, and talent development—and includes simple, direct access to the most frequently used services: market research, events, financial advisory programs, strategic consulting, statistics, and support.
