Organized by the Spain-Brazil Council Foundation and the Spanish Secretary of State for Trade, the first edition of the Spain-Brazil Strategic Dialogue was held yesterday at the Cervantes Institute in Sao Paulo, to analyze the role of both countries as strategic partners in the new global scenario, also marked by the confirmation of Mercosur as a global actor.
The Secretary of State for Trade of Spain, Amparo López Senovilla, was responsible for closing the event, which aims to bring together institutional, business, and academic leaders from both countries to contribute to building an even stronger and more ambitious bilateral relationship, according to the Council Foundation’s website.
The event began —after the welcome from the director of the Cervantes Institute of São Paulo, Daniel Gallego— with the discussion “Spain and Brazil in the new global architecture”, in which the position of Spain as a strategic partner of Brazil in the new global scenario, and the concrete opportunities that this new stage opens regarding mutual investments, energy, infrastructure, and economic security were analyzed.
In this first conversation, moderated by the international journalist from GloboNews Marcelo Lins, participated the Deputy CEO of Neoenergia, Solange Ribeiro; the Secretary of State for Trade, Amparo López Senovilla; and Rodrigo Zerbone, executive secretary of the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services of Brazil.
The second block was titled “Brazil in perspective: strategic priorities and international projection”: a reflection on Brazil’s main strategic priorities in the current international context; its role in shaping the new geopolitical scenario; and the prospects for the relationship with Spain and Europe.
Moderated by the economic journalist from CNN Brazil Thais Heredia, the group of participants included the dean of the Faculty of Economics of USP, Maria Dolores Montoya; the coordinator of the Ibero-American Center (CIBA) of the Institute of International Relations of the University of São Paulo (USP), Professor Pedro Dallari; the academic and former Secretary of Strategic Affairs of the Presidency of the Republic, Hussein Kalout; the director for Brazil of the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group, Luciana Galán; and a consultant from the Brazilian Center for International Relations (CEBRI).
