Jesus Jimenez, representing El Club de Exportadores, participated in the plenary of Mesa Africa.
On Monday 13 February, our CEO Jesús together with Marta Blanco, president of CEOE International and Jaime Montalvo from the Chamber of Commerce were in charge of representing and giving voice to the private business sector within this important body, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The event was chaired by Minister José Manuel Albares and Secretary of State Ángeles Moreno. The meeting enabled an exchange of ideas and proposals on Spain´s presence in Africa and to address transcendental issues such as bilateralism, direct investment, public-private initiatives, as well as institutionalism, shared development agenda, and financial cooperation.
The minister addressed the economic aspect of Africa and expressed that "there is no real development without private investment". Africa has to be approached as a long-term investment strategy. Among other relevant facts, the population of the Sahel is expected to exceed 500 million people by 2050, not to mention the commercial opportunities that will arise in African markets as a result of the rise of a globalized urban middle class.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank Ambassador Alberto Vierella for the great support and important work he is doing in helping to boost Spain´s business presence in Africa.
