During July 2, 3 and 4, the Internationalization Week of Catalonia was held at the Barcelona Congress Palace, where more than 4.500 companies interested in increasing their international competitiveness met.
The days were concentrated on four main activities which included a forum on European enlargement, workshops and practical services to promote the internationalization of companies, specific consultations with the international directors of COPCA and the star conference of the head of the Generalitat, Artur Mas, insisting on the important role of the Catalan business sector in the construction of Europe and giving way to the Awards for the Internationalization of the Catalan Economy 2002.
The Director General of Commerce, Jaume Angerri, and the Director of the Consorci de Promoció Comercial de Catalunya (COPCA), Jordi Serret, presented the Internationalization Week, organized by the Catalan foreign promotion agency itself, with the aim of continuing to position the internationalization process as one of the priorities of Catalan companies.
The event featured three distinct areas: the Forum of the Enlarged European Union, the IX Meeting of Business Promotion Centers and the Fair of Services and Workshops for Internationalization.
Forum of the Enlarged European Union
The various round tables brought together more than 400 attendees who showed a special interest in the markets of Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary, and to a lesser extent, in Slovenia, Slovakia, Latvia and Estonia.
According to COPCA's conclusions, Catalan businesspeople should have a deeper understanding of the opportunities and possibilities offered by the new countries in the expansion, since the interest they generate depends almost exclusively on the size of each market, without considering other factors that could be more decisive.
The Minister of Labor, Industry, Trade and Tourism, Antoni Fernández Teixidó, met with representatives of the economic development agencies of the ten candidate countries and confirmed Catalonia's excellent trade relations with the new markets, noting that Catalan exports had increased by 16% during 2002 in these destinations.
IX Meeting of Business Promotion Centers
A total of 800 interviews were recorded between the 37 directors of the COPCA Business Promotion Centers spread abroad and Catalan entrepreneurs interested in expanding their companies to foreign markets.
However, the large number of requests handled, around 1.700, forced an increase in consultations, in order to try to cover all of them.
Among all the countries represented, the centers in Casablanca, Warsaw, Budapest, São Paulo and Moscow stood out as having the most business projects planned for the coming weeks.
In this context, it is worth noting the launch of the Business Platforms, through 10 of the COPCA Business Promotion Centers.
This new approach will offer a comprehensive response to the needs of companies that want to establish a commercial, logistics or production subsidiary in a country, through the implementation of an office that serves as a base for the future development of the business.
Services and Workshops Fair
The 16 companies that offered their services during the sessions highly valued the opportunity for all agents related to the internationalization of the Catalan economy to meet during these sessions.
A total of 24 workshops were held with 1.800 attendees, with the aim of providing concrete and practical answers for the international expansion of companies.
The seminars on China and Chile stood out, along with the workshop on product distribution to France and the one dedicated to the Internet and new technologies.
Conference
Under the title "Catalunya: serem, si guanyem la globalització", Artur Mas, minister-in-chief of the Generalitat, delivered the conference that put the finishing touch to the first day of the Internationalization Week.
Artur Mas emphasized the importance of giving the Catalan economy a European orientation. Thus, Catalonia's role in Europe is comprised of the aspirations, contributions, and dynamism of the region's economic sector, according to Mas.
The candidate for the Catalan presidency pointed out that Catalonia's average exports exceed the global average. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister highlighted the crucial role of SMEs in expanding into other markets and emphasized the need to continue strengthening internationalization policies.
Next, the 2002 Catalan Economy Internationalization Awards were presented to companies that had excelled in their export capacity during the previous year.
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