Updated: Nov 5, 2020
IPDAL brought together governments, investment agencies and business associations from Colombia, Spain and Portugal.
The Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism of Spain, María Reyes Maroto, explained the role that the Ibero-American space, and in particular business partnerships with Portugal, play in the economic reactivation strategy of Pedro Sanchez’s government.
Colombia’s Vice Minister of Foreign Trade, Laura Valdivieso, highlighted that the country maintains a sustainable development strategy, which reconciles openness to foreign investment with environmental and social commitments assumed within the scope of both local and multilateral policies.
Portugal’s Secretary of State for Internationalization, Eurico Brilhante Dias, assured that the government and national companies continue to invest in Latin America, in particular in defending the free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur.
On October 29th, IPDAL also hosted a dialogue with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the economic research unit of BBVA Colombia, where two Chief Economists shared their predictions for the economic and financial future of the region. According to the two experts, Latin America can avoid another “lost decade” if its political and business leaders manage to take advantage of opportunities for economic reform.
At the Cascais Cultural Center, a round table was also held that brought together voices from the private sector – through the participation of CJR Renewables and Sacyr-Somague – official investment capture agencies – through the participation of the President of AICEP, the President of ProColombia and the Delegate Consejera of ICEX – and the largest business associations in the three countries – in the person of the President of the CIP, the General Director of the Chamber of Spain and the President of ANDI.
The 5th Iberoamerican Meeting in Cascais also included interventions from the Deputy Secretary General of SEGIB, the Ambassadors of Spain and Colombia and the Vice-President of the Cascais City Council.
The initiative was supported by BBVA, CJR Renewables, Sacyr-Somague and the Inter-American Development Bank and in partnership with Cascais City Council, Grupo Azevedos and Iberia.