SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 18 Oct. (EUROPE PRESS) –
A total of 75 companies participate from today until tomorrow Wednesday in the seventh edition of the meeting of Spanish bidding companies, organized by the Cabildo de Tenerife, through the delegated area of Foreign Action, and the Chamber of Commerce of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, with the aim of bringing the tender market closer to companies interested in participating in international public tenders.
The inauguration was also attended by the president of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres; the president of the Cabildo de Tenerife, Pedro Martín; the CEO of Foreign Action, Liskel Álvarez, and the president of the Chamber of Commerce of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Santiago Sesé, together with the International Director of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, Jaime Montalvo, and Elisa Carbonell, Director of Internationalization of ICEX Company, among other authorities.
Ángel Víctor Torres underlined the importance of holding these technical conferences on the islands and referred to the central role that the Canary Islands must play in tricontinental relations. Torres valued the work of the regional public company Proexca in the internationalization of Canarian entities and reported the almost 200 million euros from the MAC Interreg 2021-27 to promote common projects between the ORs and nearby African countries.
The head of the Executive of the Canary Islands also indicated that the archipelago is in a position to lead investment projects in the African environment and mentioned the presidency of the Canary Islands in the Conference of RUP regions and the coincidence of that period, which It starts from November this year, with the Spanish Presidency of the EU in the second half of 2023.
The president of the Cabildo, Pedro Martín, pointed out at the inauguration that the Cabildo “has promoted this meeting to generate business opportunities between companies, facilitate the possibility of creating alliances and help them maximize the chances of success in their tenders.” “That it helps project Tenerife companies abroad and win a place in international tenders, that they generate employment and diversify their productive fabric,” he added.
Likewise, Pedro Martín highlighted the work that has been carried out by the Island Corporation, in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce, through the Tenerife Licita program, which has become a regional and national benchmark as a model for promoting internationalization. Through it, agreements have been reached in Latin America and Africa, in countries such as Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Morocco, Mauritania, Peru and Colombia.
Under the motto ‘A look at Africa from the multilateral perspective’, in this call the attending companies will be connected with representatives of the main national and international organizations that operate in Africa, such as the World Bank or the African Development Bank, in sectors such as Tourism, Energy, Water, ICTs or Engineering, which will announce the main investments and projects planned in the neighboring continent for the next two years.
The president of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Chamber of Commerce, Santiago Sesé, for his part, highlighted the experience of the Canarian chambers when doing business in Africa, offering the islands as a launching point from which companies from all over the country can make the leap to the African continent, “our proximity and experience make the Canary Islands a national strategic benchmark for discovering and taking advantage of business opportunities in 54 countries with diverse cultural and economic realities, but full of possibilities. “The Canarian Chambers of Commerce have been of 20 years carrying out trade missions to African countries, and I assure you that from Africa the Canarian businessman is not seen as a foreigner, but as one more actor in its economy”, he added.
The insular manager of the delegated area of Foreign Action, Liskel Álvarez, has highlighted the opportunity that is generated for the business fabric “both for companies interested in starting their activity abroad, as well as for large firms with experience and success stories in international projects”. “That they can identify common interests and create alliances to participate through consortiums in this type of bidding, for a greater guarantee of success, has been one of our objectives,” she added.
Álvarez clarified that “of the 75 registered companies, 42 are from the Canary Islands, 36 from Tenerife and 6 from Gran Canaria, and 33 have come from the Peninsula, mainly from the communities of Madrid, Andalusia, Valladolid, Murcia, Extremadura and Catalonia.”
For his part, Jaime Montalvo stressed that “Spain has a modern chamber system that puts its great technical and human capacities, as well as its resources, at the service of institutions and companies, being an example of public-private collaboration.”
Among the novelties included in this year’s edition, the delivery of the Awards to the Best Spanish Bidding Companies stands out, which through 11 categories recognize the work of companies from all over the national territory in the framework of international tenders.
During these two days of celebration, 4 presentations will be given, on Spanish companies on the African continent, Business opportunities in Africa from the perspective of multilateral financing, The role of financial entities in the multilateral market and European foreign action and the main financial instruments for projects in Africa. The agenda will also be enriched with B2B meetings so that companies can hold individual meetings both with representatives of international organizations and with other participating companies.
The agenda also includes 5 sectoral working tables, on the UN, water and sanitation, energy and environment, tourism, engineering and transport, and ICTs, as strategic sectors in which action is being taken on the African continent. The meeting has had in its organization the sponsorship of Turismo de Tenerife, Caixabank, and a wide network of Spanish regional organizations of international promotion.
