Speech by President of the Government at closing ceremony of Spain-Uruguay Business Meeting

Mr Minister for the Economy and Finance; Madam State Secretary; public officials; ladies and gentlemen; dear friends,

It is a pleasure for me to be here today in Montevideo. Spain and Uruguay maintain, as you know, excellent institutional, economic and trade relations, and this Business Meeting, which I am taking part in today at this closing ceremony, is testimony to that, I am also absolutely convinced that it will serve to further heighten the strong ties that exist between our two countries.

As you are aware, I have come here from Brazil and I have observed on this trip to Latin America the tremendous interest shown by Spanish companies in the region. Uruguay is well established as a very stable country in the region, with a high degree of transparency and legal certainty. You only have to observe the capacity that the Uruguayan economy has had to manage the risks of an economic recession that has affected, to an even greater extent, other countries in the region in recent years.

Spain, for its part, is coming out of an unprecedented economic crisis and it is doing so thanks to an ambitious agenda of reforms that has returned stability and confidence to the economy, which has now been growing and creating jobs for the last three years. The foreign trade sector and the recovery of lost competitiveness have played a truly decisive role in this.

Today, the results speak for themselves: in 2016, the Spanish economy grew by 3.2%, and headed up, for the second year running, growth in the main economies in the Eurozone; and in 2017, we will grow by at least 2.7%. That was absolutely unimaginable just four years ago. Furthermore, this growth has translated into strong job creation, averaging out at half a million new jobs a year since 2014.
This radical change has been possible thanks to actions taken in different areas. I will list just four: first, the efforts to guarantee the sustainability of the public accounts, which have allowed us to reduce the deficit by more than half since 2011 and thus recover confidence in the Spanish economy; second, the clean-up of the financial sector, which allowed credit to flow again and significantly reduced financial costs; third, the labour reform, which has laid the foundations for the strong creation of jobs; and, finally, the energy reform to guarantee the sustainability of the sector and reduce the cost of energy.

All of these reforms and indeed others, have been crucial for heightening the contribution from the foreign trade sector to our growth, because this has enabled our companies to be more competitive and made our products more attractive overseas.

This can also be seen in the figures: before the crisis we exported a quarter of the national Gross Domestic Product; now, more than a third of this comes from exports. This figure is higher than the GDP weighting of exports in such countries as Italy, France and the United Kingdom, our traditional competitors.

The dynamic nature of our exports has also enabled us to achieve a positive foreign trade balance over the last five years, an unprecedented event in our recent economic history. In other words, in contrast to what happened at other times, the Spanish economy is growing without the need to go into debt; in short, the economy is growing at this time because it is producing and because it is exporting.

The main players in this change of growth model are companies. Spanish companies are increasingly aware that they are competing in global markets. What could be viewed in the past as a threat is now seen as an opportunity. They are committing to opening up in new markets, they are committing to greater specialisation of their products and to new sectors with a high added value. And I am not only talking about the major corporations; there are an increasing number of SMEs setting out on their international adventure.

Against this backdrop - the transformation of the business culture - Spanish exports have increased by 50%. There are now almost 50,000 companies regularly exporting beyond our borders.

And, as is only right, Uruguay is a destination of great interest to our companies. Evidence of that is that, over recent years, there is a marked upward trend between our two countries: in 2016, bilateral trade amounted to 410 million dollars, a still modest figure, but we must put this into perspective. Between 2013 and 2016, bilateral trade with Uruguay increased by more than 27%.
In terms of investments, and taking into account the size of the Uruguayan economy, these are relatively significant: Spain is the second-highest leading investor in the country and, in fact, according to the latest figures available, there are more than 125 Spanish companies registered in the country, providing jobs for more than 12,500 people. Spanish companies are able to contribute their extensive international experience and cutting-edge technology in projects that are deemed to be strategic for Uruguay, as is already happening in certain instances.

Hence, Uruguay is a very important partner for Spain and I am convinced that our economic and trade relations could be stepped up further still. The Government of Uruguay is starting up projects that will offer new opportunities for Spanish companies within the framework of the modification to the energy matrix and the National Infrastructure Plan. Similarly, Spain is attractive for Uruguayan companies and investors. The Spanish economy is open and competitive. Spain is also a good point of entry to the EU market.

In light of the foregoing, as I have stressed in various speeches over the course of recent hours, it is important - the Minister for the Economy and Finance reminded us of this in his speech - for us to make progress on the negotiations to firm up the free trade agreement between MERCOSUR and the European Union. This agreement is now closer than ever and I stress the importance of persevering with the ambition to reach a political agreement this year, in 2017. This agreement will result in major benefits for everyone; it will improve the life of citizens from both blocs through the creation of a market with more than 700 million consumers, and will facilitate relations between companies. It will also clearly show that the market, opening up foreign trade and broad and balanced trade agreements all generate economic growth and job creation, and hence, ultimately, generate well-being for people which is, at the end of the day, the goal at hand.

Ladies and gentlemen, I will finish now.

Uruguay and Spain are partners and friends, which is why the Government of Spain will do everything possible to continue stepping up trade and economic relations between the two countries.

Thank you very much.