The XIV Ibero-American Business Meeting began this Thursday in Santo Domingo with a crowded attendance of more than 1,500 people.
The inauguration of the meeting was headed by the Vice President of the Dominican Republic, Raquel Peña, who stated, on behalf of the Dominican Government and President Luis Abinader, the great honor it represents to welcome this meeting, which is the gateway to innovative proposals that reach the decision makers of the countries represented in this conclave.
The official said that this forum, which is an official activity of the XXVIII Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, should be used to welcome the model of openness to international trade, dialogue between nations and the search for joint solutions .
“It is our desire that the meeting become a true instrument of collaboration, that promotes prosperity and business development in Latin America, and that this translates into well-being for all citizens of a fairer Latin America,” said the deputy president.
The president of the National Council of Private Enterprise (CONEP) of the Dominican Republic, Celso Juan Marranzini, highlighted the meaning of being the host organization of this important meeting that reflects the shared desire to forge a more prosperous, just and sustainable region.
“Today, from Santo Domingo, Primada de América, we show the world the potential of an Ibero-America that recognizes that there are more things that unite us than those that separate us. We give a strong signal in favor of the development of our countries, defending the private initiative and the freedom of enterprise”, he affirmed.
Marranzini also highlighted the role of the private sector in the country’s growth that occurs in an environment of unprecedented political, economic and social stability over the last six decades.
“It is up to us, as businessmen, to support the consolidation of democracy because in it the private initiative is expressed and manifests itself as another face of the freedoms that only in it we can achieve. Many factors affect the way we do business these days. To be successful, going forward, an additional dose of innovation and resilience will be required”, highlighted Marranzini.
On the other hand, the Ibero-American Secretary General, Andrés Allamand, summed up the importance of the event in one sentence. "Latin America needs its entrepreneurs". Allamand argued that this need is to clear up the ghost of the lost decades that will only disappear, in his opinion, with a coordinated and powerful business, state, and action.
“I am absolutely convinced that Latin America has the businessmen that are needed. And I am absolutely sure that in this meeting, that this summit in the Dominican Republic, which welcomes us as if we were all children of this land, will be a fundamental impulse to generate what we are thinking of: fair, inclusive growth that does not stop absolutely no one behind,” Allamand said.
While the president of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE) and Permanent Secretary of the Ibero-American Business Council (CEIB), Antonio Garamendi, stated: “The Ibero-American Business Meeting stands, once again, as the most important act in the business field at the Ibero-American level, which is held every two years, and which represents the best meeting point between the public and private sectors”.
The XIV Ibero-American Business Meeting, organized by the National Council for Private Enterprise (CONEP), the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB) and the Ibero-American Business Council (CEIB), will continue tomorrow Friday with the approach to gender equality issues, which will have a leading role during a thematic table that will be the most extensive of the program; tourism, infrastructure and digital transformation.
It will also be the day in which the heads of State and Government have a discussion and the recommendations of the business sector are presented to them, which will be taken to the XXVIII Ibero-American Summit, which will also be held in Santo Domingo, on Saturday 25 of March.
Prior to the closing session of the Business Meeting, in which HM King Felipe VI and the President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, will intervene, the presidency will be transferred pro tempore of the Council of Ibero-American Entrepreneurs which, in this case, will fall to the president of the National Federation of Chambers of Industries of Ecuador and executive president of CIP, María Paz Jervis.
The XIV Business Meeting has been the one with the largest attendance, with more than 1,765 people registered in total, of which more than 1,500 will attend in person and the rest will be able to follow up on the content virtually and deferred.