The new Spain-Africa Business Council will promote bilateral economic and business activity

Presentation at the CEOE headquarters

CEOE has presented the new Spain-Africa Business Council, which will aim to promote economic and business activity between Africa and Spain and whose Secretariat will be established in the Canary Islands.

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The initiative has the support of the GGovernment of the Canary Islands, the Canarian Confederation of Entrepreneurs and CEOE Tenerife.

In the presentation of the Council, which took place at the headquarters of CEOE, in Madrid, the president of CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, the Secretary of State for Commerce, Xiana Mendez, Secretary of State for Foreign and Global Affairs, Angels Moreno Bau, and the president of the Government of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres. The meeting was attended by, among others, different authorities and representatives of the embassies of African countries accredited in Spain.

 

In his speech, Antonio Garamendi, stressed the importance of the creation of the Spain-Africa Business Council to “consolidate economic and business ties between Spain and the continent".

 

This initiative to promote Spain's relations with Africa will benefit from the support of the Canary Islands, where the Council Secretariat will be established, taking advantage of the geographical location of the archipelago, its connectivity and its competitive advantages as Spain's main international business and logistics platform with he African continent.

 

The president of CEOE also pointed out that "the permanent dialogue between African and Spanish business organizations that the Council promotes is essential to face current challenges." The Council will integrate the main African business organizations, most of them members of the International Organization of Employers (IOE).

 

For his part, the president of the Government of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, stressed the importance of The Canary Islands as a gateway to the continent and recalled that his is the only autonomous government that has a specific General Directorate for Africa.

 

Likewise, he stated that “more instruments and means such as the Spain-Africa Business Council are essential to promote business relations with our African partners” and valued the collaboration between the different actors that work with the continent.

 

This initiative to promote Spain's relations with Africa will benefit from the support of the Canary Islands, where the Council Secretariat will be established, taking advantage of the geographical location of the archipelago, its connectivity and its competitive advantages as Spain's main international business and logistics platform with the African continent.

 

Necessary initiative

 

The Secretary of State for Commerce, Xiana Méndez, congratulated CEOE for the initiative, “more necessary than ever in the complex context in which we find ourselves.” For Méndez, Africa presents “important economic, political, and demographic reasons that make it increasingly attractive” for Spanish companies.

 

This is reflected in the bilateral exchange data, with exports to the continent already representing 17% of the total, surpassing Latin America for several years, and the enormous potential of the Spanish investment in Africa.

 

He also pointed out that, as has been done in recent years through the Horizon Africa Strategy, our country will continue to promote relations with Africa during the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, in the second half of the year.

 

For her part, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Global Affairs, Angels Moreno Bau, stressed the importance that Spain has given to the African continent in recent years. Proof of this are the Third Africa Plan and the Africa Focus Program, as well as the joint work that has been carried out between the ministries with powers in the matter.

 

Moreno Bau also highlighted the instruments for development and financing, both national and European, such as Global Gateway, and its impact on African companies and the population. Finally, he noted that “it is essential for companies to create more robust frameworks” for doing business.

 

Closing of the Africa-Spain Business Council

During the meeting to present the new Spain-Africa Business Council, the panel was held “Economic and Commercial Relations between Spain and Africa”, with the participation of the deputy director general of Financial Promotion of Internationalization, Verónica Samper, the director of Institutional and Business Cooperation of ICEX - Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade, Marta Valero, the general director of COFIDES, Miguel Tiana, and the director of the Account Area of ​​the State of CESCE, Beatriz Reguero.

 

Likewise, “Business Relations between Spain and Africa” was discussed in a talk moderated by the president of CEOE International, Marta Blanco, in which the value of the new Council was highlighted to “structure a common agenda and a permanent dialogue between "Spanish and African business organizations."

 

Spanish companies present on the continent participated in the debate, sharing their experience and the opportunities presented by their sector of activity in Africa. Thus, representatives of Elecnor, Indra, CAF, Amadeus and Bego Costa Africa & Worldwide.

 

The last debate panel, focused on “The Spain Africa Business Council in the Canary Islands”, was moderated by the general secretary of the Spain-Africa Business Council, Agustín Manrique de Lara, who thanked the institutions for their support for the creation of the Council and highlighted the importance of establishing the secretariat in the Canary Islands, due to its potential with Africa as an outermost region that "will facilitate building the necessary ties and joining forces regarding the Council."

 

The Minister of Economy, Knowledge and Employment of the Government of the Canary Islands, Elena Máñez, the president of the Canarian Confederation of Entrepreneurs, Pedro Ortega, and the general secretary of CEOE Tenerife, Eduardo Bezares.

 

At the closing of the day, the Secretary General of CEOE, José Alberto González-Ruiz, and the Secretary General of the OIE, Roberto Suárez, spoke, showing his organization's support for the creation of the Council and claiming "the usefulness" of business organizations to “improve political and social stability and the business environment.” Likewise, the senior ambassador of the African ambassadors accredited in Spain, the ambassador of Gabon, Patrick Arthur Moukala, conveyed the support of the African countries to the new Council, an important instrument of business cooperation between Africa and Spain