In the Conversation of Heads of State and Government, with which the final touch is put to the XIV Ibero-American Business Meeting in the Dominican Republic, the president of the Employers’ Confederation of the Dominican Republic (Copardom), Laura Peña and the permanent secretary of CEIB made official the transfer of the presidency of the Council of Ibero-American Entrepreneurs, to her counterpart in the National Federation of Chambers of Industries of Ecuador and executive president of CIP, María Paz Jervis, in the presence of the president of the National Council of Private Enterprise-CONEP, Celso Juan Marranzini .
In her first words as president, the representative of the Ecuadorian business leadership thanked the intense work carried out by the Ibero-American General Secretariat-SEGIB, CEIB and the Dominican business organizations led by the National Council of Private Enterprise (Conep), to make possible this Meeting, which forms part of the program of the Summits of Heads of State and Government.
María Paz Jervis stressed in her speech that “we must not ignore the present and address the real problems that afflict us: physical and legal security, employability (both for those who have jobs and for those who are unemployed), and the fight for overcome poverty, which according to ECLAC is found in 32% of the total population of the region (13% live in extreme poverty).
Jervis also highlighted the important role of the union sector and assured that “the eradication of gaps is not only the responsibility of governments but also of the private sector.” In this sense, he stated that “it is our responsibility to promote the defense of democracy, the rule of law and institutions, since freedom of association and business freedom are essential at such a critical moment for Latin America. It is very important to listen to the voice of the business sector in the current context”.
Council of Ibero-American Entrepreneurs-CEIB
The Council of Ibero-American Businessmen (CEIB) was born in 2015, at the Meeting of Presidents of Ibero-American Business Organizations, as an initiative supported by the International Organization of Employers-OIE, an institution to which the 24 most representative business organizations of the 21 Latin American countries, Spain, the Principality of Andorra and Portugal. It is voluntary and works on behalf and defense of the
interests of companies, professionals and the self-employed, configuring the largest business network in the Region.
CEIB is formed by the business organizations of Argentina – UIA; Bolivia – CEPB; Brazil – CNI; Chile – CPC; Colombia-ANDI; Costa Rica – UCCAEP; Ecuador – CIP – CIG; El Salvador-ANEP; Paraguay – FEPRINCO; Peru – CONFIEP; Mexico – CONCAMIN – COPARMEX; Nicaragua – COSEP; Panama – CONEP; Principality of Andorra – CEA; Honduras – COHEP; Uruguay – CIU – CNCS; Guatemala-CACIF; Dominican Republic – COPARDOM; Venezuela – FEDECAMARAS; Spain – CEOE and Portugal – CIP.
In this way, the Council becomes the main interlocutor of the companies before the governments, the social, economic and international political agents.
The pro tempore presidency of CEIB rotates among the presidents of the business organizations and corresponds to the leadership of the host country of the Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government. While the Permanent Secretariat of CEIB falls to the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations-CEOE.