Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation takes part in presentation of Report on contribution of Spanish companies to sustainable development in Ibero-America

This debate served to present the Report on the contribution from Spanish companies to sustainable development in Ibero-America, prepared by the Directorate-General of Economic Diplomacy (State Secretariat for Global Spain), in collaboration with 17 Spanish companies that operate in Latin America.

The minister, Arancha González-Laya, accompanied at the inaugural session by the chairmen of three of the companies that collaborated in preparing the Report (Banco Santander, Telefónica and Iberdrola), recalled the priority status of Ibero-America for our foreign policy. "I highlight the firm commitment of Spanish companies to the region", remarked the minister, "which has been proven once again in a very special way during the difficult times we are experiencing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and in such figures as the 150 billion euros of direct Spanish investment in the region (30% of Spanish investment abroad), the 160 million euros in social investment, and the 360,000 people employed by companies that have collaborated in the preparation of the Report".

The minister also welcomed the outstanding international leadership of Spanish companies in issues related to sustainability and the 2030 Agenda, a field in which they are genuine benchmarks at a global level, which is particularly visible in Ibero-America.

The round table, moderated by the journalist Ana Estévez, included the participation of the State Secretary for Global Spain, Manuel Muñiz, who, together with representatives from BBVA, Ferrovial and Mapfre, debated some of the more important aspects of the Report, underlying in their speeches the significance of committing to an economic recovery based on a new sustainable, inclusive, green and digital economy; as well as on the priority that the government has assigned to economic diplomacy as a key tool to boost the recovery by the foreign sector and the many internationalised Spanish companies, and of the sound image of Spain as a safe, reliable and resilient country, as underlined in the recently presented campaign, entitled #SpainforSure. The final conclusion that the four participants arrived at in the round table was that it will only be possible to exit the crisis by committing to a new economic model that is both more sustainable and more inclusive, to which end it is essential to continue making progress on complying with the 2030 Agenda, which Spanish companies are absolutely committed to and are willing to step up their efforts on.

The Report, which can be viewed on the web page of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, reviews the figures on Spanish business presence in Ibero-America, and sets out the main projects and programmes through which Spanish companies contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals in the region, to gender equality, to financial facilities and micro-loans, sustainable infrastructures, social and education programmes, health projects, to promoting sustainable energy and respect for the environment, among others.

The following companies collaborated in the preparation of the Report: ABERTIS, ACCIONA, ACS, BBVA, B. SANTANDER, ELECNOR, FCC, FERROVIAL, GESTAMP, IBERDROLA, INDITEX, INDRA, MAPFRE, NATURGY, REPSOL, SACYR and TELEFÓNICA.

Non official translation