The Diplomat
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, will inaugurate next Monday, in Madrid, the IV Congress of the Business Council Alliance for Ibero-America (CEAPI), which will be held under the slogan: ‘Transformation and social impact: the best companies for the planet’.
The Congress, which is held every two years, will be closed on Tuesday by His Majesty the King, and will bring together leading Ibero-American businessmen and experts to debate the social role of business as a participant in a new welfare state and as a key element in tackling the COVID19 health crisis.
The Congress will focus on the role that business leaders can play in promoting the transformation of Ibero-America, especially after the pandemic, always bearing in mind the need to achieve sustainability.
In this respect, the President of CEAPI, Nùria Vilanova, emphasised that the Congress will demonstrate that Ibero-America really matters and that companies in the region have a great opportunity before them. Ibero-America,” she said, “is one of the areas with the greatest biodiversity; with mineral resources, such as lithium, and it is in the sights of the great powers, which are showing their interest in the region”.
Vilanova added that these great challenges can only be tackled “with the commitment of the business community”.
The different round tables at the Congress will analyse the major issues that mark the roadmap for economic and social recovery, such as financing for new projects, marked by digitalisation and sustainability; the strengthening of public-private partnerships, the new challenges in the health sector, the creation of value for people, renewable energies and sustainable infrastructures, responsible mining, new tourism, the challenges of entrepreneurship and recent consumer trends, marked by activist customers.
The role of women and the struggle for progress in gender equality, race and diversity policies will also be addressed. As in previous congresses, a tribute will be paid to the Ibero-American Businesswoman during the closing gala dinner, which will be attended by the President of the Congress of Deputies, Meritxell Batet.
Numerous personalities are expected to speak on the various panels, including several members of the Government, such as the Fourth Vice-President and Minister for Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Arancha González Laya.
The Mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez Almeida; the Ibero-American Secretary General, Rebeca Grynspan; the Secretary General of the OECD, Ángel Gurría; the Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the UNDP, Luis Felipe López-Calva; the President of the Inter-American Development Bank, Mauricio Claver-Carone, will also take part; the Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Zurab Pololikashvili; the Minister of Tourism of the Dominican Republic, David Collado Morales; the President of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, José Luis Bonet; and the Honorary President of CEAPI, Enrique V. Iglesias.
The Governor of the Bank of Spain, Pablo Hernández de Cos, who will speak at the dinner on the first day, and personalities such as Antonio Garamendi, President of the CEOE, and the former Prime Minister of Spain, José María Aznar, will also attend.
Among the entrepreneurs, there will be a large representation of leaders from all sectors, such as Pablo Isla, Executive Chairman of Inditex, who will discuss the transformation process undertaken by companies with Begoña Gómez, Director of the Chair of Competitive Social Transformation (TSC) at the Complutense University of Madrid.
The event, which will take place at the Caixa Forum headquarters, has the support of BID Invest, the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB), and the Chair of Competitive Social Transformation (CSC) of the Complutense University of Madrid. It also has the collaboration of Grupo Azvi, Fundación La Caixa, Iberia, LaLiga, NetApp, Atlantic Copper, Atrevia, Cofides, Grupo Red Eléctrica, Las Rozas Village and La Roca Village, Mapfre, Tebrio and Correos.
