Spanish companies can bring their extensive experience to strategic projects in Uruguay, says Mariano Rajoy

BBVA Headquarters, Montevideo (Uruguay)

In the course of the second day of his trip to Uruguay, the President of the Government made a closing speech at a business forum in which he claimed that "Spain is overcoming an unprecedented economic crisis thanks to an ambitious raft of reforms which have returned stability and confidence to the economy".

Just as he did in Brazil speaking to Brazilian entrepreneurs, Mariano Rajoy explained to the Uruguayan business community that for three years Spain has been growing and creating jobs, and that the external sector had played a major role in that recovery. He said, "In 2016, the Spanish economy grew by 3.2%, outperforming the major economies of the Eurozone for the second year running and in 2017 we will continue to grow, by at least 2.7%".

The President of the Government maintained that this growth has been possible thanks to the effort made to ensure the sustainability of public accounts, the clean-up of the financial sector, the labour reform and the energy reform. In his opinion, "all these reforms, and others, have been crucial to driving the external sector's contribution to growth and making our companies more competitive abroad".

The economy is growing because we are producing and exporting

Mariano Rajoy recalled that before the crisis Spain exported a quarter of its Gross Domestic Product, while today it exports over a third: "This figure is higher than the weighting of exports in such countries as Italy, France and the United Kingdom, our traditional competitors".

The President of the Government also pointed out that Spain's export performance had given rise to a positive trade balance in the last five years, "an unprecedented occurrence" in our recent economic history: "Contrary to what happened at other times, the Spanish economy is growing without the need to take on further debt. In short, today the economy is growing because we are producing and because we are exporting".

Spanish companies are seeking out new markets

Pool Moncloa/ Diego CrespoMariano Rajoy said that the major drivers of the change in the growth model are the enterprises, which "are increasingly aware that they are competing in global markets".

In this respect he stressed that both major companies and, to a growing extent, SMEs are embarking on international adventures: "They are attempting to break into new markets, banking on greater product specialisation in high added value sectors".

In this context, the President of the Government added, the Spanish export base has increased by 50% and nearly 50,000 companies export regularly to destinations outside Spain.

Uruguay, an interesting market

The President of the Spanish Government said that in recent years bilateral trade between Spain and Uruguay had shown a markedly upward trend: "In 2016 the figure was 410 million dollars, a modest figure but one which we should put in perspective. Between 2013 and 2016 bilateral trade increased by over 27%". He also argued that, given the size of the Uruguayan economy, the investments in that country are relatively important: Spain is the second biggest investor in the country; there are over 125 Spanish companies over there and they employ over 12,500 people.

Pool Moncloa/ Diego CrespoIn the President of the Government's opinion, "Spanish companies can contribute their extensive international experience and advanced technology in projects considered to be strategic for Uruguay, as is already happening in some cases".

Mariano Rajoy pointed out that the Uruguayan Government is putting in place projects that will provide new opportunities for Spanish companies in the framework of the modification of the energy matrix and the national infrastructures plan. He went on to say that Spain "is attractive for Uruguayan companies and investment because it has "an open and competitive economy" and is a "good entry point to the community market"

MERCOSUR-EU agreement

During his speech Mariano Rajoy reiterated that negotiations to reach an association agreement between MERCOSUR and the EU must advance: "This agreement is closer than ever today, and I insist that it is vital to strive towards meeting a political agreement this year, 2017".

The President of the Government claimed that this agreement "will be significantly beneficial to everyone; it will enhance the lives of citizens on both sides by creating a market of over 700 million consumers and will facilitate relations between companies".

After closing the forum and before conversing with the President of the Republic, Tabaré Vázquez, Mariano Rajoy exchanged impressions with attending business leaders.