On February 25, the official inauguration ceremony for Fernando Fernández-Tapias as Speaker of the Chamber was held, presided over by Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, and also attended by José María Álvarez del Manzano.
The president of the Chamber began his speech by thanking the business owners integrated into CEIM for their support during the recent elections and announced that the presidency of the Chamber is for him "an honor, a satisfaction and also a great responsibility."
In the chapter on promoting foreign trade for Madrid companies, Fernández-Tapias highlighted his intention to intensify the presence of companies from the region at international fairs and exhibitions and to foster their commercial relations with other countries, to continue receiving foreign missions and delegations, and to expand the number of Foreign Trade Technicians that the Chamber and IFEMA allocate each year to the five continents.
The budget of the Madrid Chamber of Commerce approved during the presidency of Juan Mato, Fernández-Tapias' predecessor, will manage resources of 48,7 million euros (about 8.100 billion pesetas) throughout 2002 for direct activities, which represents a growth of 63% compared to last year's budget.
We can highlight the incorporation last year of almost one hundred SMEs into the Foreign Trade Promotion Initiation Plan (PIPE), in which 225 Madrid-based companies now participate and have become permanent exporters. Agreements signed with banks and savings banks to support business financing needs have also increased, meaning that small and medium-sized enterprises will have access to credit on preferential terms.
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