The CEO of International CEOE and permanent secretary of CEIB, Narciso Casado spoke today at the Global Youth Leadership Forum (GYLF), which is being held these days in Santander, in which he highlighted the importance of the private sector in generating development for societies. The GYLF forum, organized by its president Jacobo Pombo, represents a space for debate and discussion where international leaders, experts, businessmen, representatives from different countries and international organizations meet with young leaders of outstanding profiles in their various fields of action, to seek solutions to the main problems facing the international community.

Role of CEIB in the development of the region

During his speech, the permanent secretary of CEIB, Narciso Casado, assured that business organizations play a crucial role in the development of societies, and this is the case in Latin America that, for five years, already has its own business organization in in favor of the interests of the region: the Council of Ibero-American Businessmen, CEIB. Its objectives are to value the competitiveness factors common to Latin American entrepreneurs and contribute, from the private sector, to the best economic and social development of Latin American countries.

He also stressed that from CEIB “we have spoken with a single voice of freedom and democracy, commitment to multilateralism, regional integration, firm impulse to intra-regional trade, promotion of strategic alliances, social dialogue, legal and social security, competitiveness elimination of barriers , administrative simplification, development of infrastructure projects, talent retention, innovation and digitalization, public-private collaboration and sustainability and the 2030 Agenda ”. In short, he added, it is about promoting a true Latin American platform that relies on available capacities and resources, business synergies, associated talent and a common language and way of being.

Challenges of business organizations

These objectives coincide with the theme of the Meeting and are closely related to globalization, he said. In this sense, Casado insisted that both from CEIB, as well as from the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB) and the Federation of Young Entrepreneurs (FIJE), regional integration between the different actors involved in the Latin American space is being promoted. Subsequently, he said, these initiatives have to be transferred globally, through the participation of CEIB within the International Organization of Employers (OIE), the largest business platform in the world, which brings together more than 150 organizations, or the Organization Workers International (ILO). Proof of this is the XXX Meeting of Ibero-American Presidents, organized by the OIE and held in June this year in Geneva. Likewise, he said, globalization is also carried out through other international institutions to which we carry the voice of the entrepreneur, such as the B20, the Global Business Coalition (GBC), the WTO, the OECD, BusinessEurope or the XII Forum of the Private Sector of the Americas, held within the framework of the 49th General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS).

The permanent secretary of CEIB said that business organizations are inserting in the political agenda the main demands that entrepreneurs meet in the Latin American space. In this regard, he stressed the need to reduce bureaucratic obstacles and simplify official procedures, reduce tax burden, improve access to financing or strengthen contracting systems. All this has been carried out thanks to the joint work between CEIB, SEGIB and FIJE in the Ibero-American summits of Heads of State and Government; in business meetings, forums and congresses, such as the largest business meeting held in Bogotá and organized by FIJE, CEIB and ANDI on “Youth and Entrepreneurship: a commitment to development”. Other examples, he added, are the Ibero-American MSME Forum of July 2019 in Buenos Aires or the X Ibero-American Congress of Young Entrepreneurs, held last week in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

Casado also stopped at the challenges facing the region to boost its economic development. Among them, he said, it is worth highlighting the determined commitment that Ibero-American entrepreneurs have to make for innovation and digitalization, since it has a positive and direct impact on productivity and welfare levels in society. "From CEIB both elements are not an option, but something absolutely necessary," he said. In fact, he added that from the Council of Ibero-American Businessmen, a series of meetings, forums and conferences have been organized with the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF), aimed at promoting the development of Ibero-American societies, such as the Conference on Experiences International in Innovation, held on September 12 in Panama.

With regard to productivity, Casado insisted that it is a strategic element for companies, which results in the efficiency and competitiveness of the business ecosystem. To this end, CEIB continued, together with the business organizations that comprise it, the 23 most important countries in the region, under the OIE umbrella, try to respond through their annual recommendations to governments and regional institutions in matters of interest common. Among them, he mentioned the elimination of entry barriers (permits and licenses) in the countries of the region; the reduction of high levels of employment protection; the search for solutions for SMEs, since they are not allowed to achieve economies of scale with which to reduce their production costs and increase their competitiveness; the increase in intraregional trade; the need to promote the mechanism of control of labor absenteeism in companies; or social dialogue between unions and business organizations.

The permanent secretary of CEIB also insisted on the importance of training and retaining talent, since according to the ILO, about 40% of young people in Latin America want to emigrate to other countries. For this reason, he reported, CEOE and SEGIB promote collaboration with universities; they also try to promote regional mobility and create current academic programs related to business and the economy; and facilitate equal opportunities for everyone who has a vocation and ambition.

Finally, Casado referred to social equality, an area in which the private sector has an impact on multiple areas of society, such as competitiveness, job creation, internationalization capacity, wealth creation and welfare. All these elements, he said, constitute the basis to implement the 2030 Agenda and strong and prepared companies are needed to implement them. “Without the concurrence of the private company, it will not be possible to achieve the objectives of the Agenda, nor guarantee the sustainability of the initiatives and projects developed to achieve the SDGs. Public-private collaboration is needed, ”he said. In this regard, he insisted that from CEIB there is a firm commitment to strengthen the development of a true Latin American trading platform, relying on available capacities, business synergies, associated talent and common language, as well as the work that business organizations They perform in the region. "All of this represents the main reason for being of CEIB and I am convinced that with everyone's work, we can play a key role in the development of initiatives and projects," he concluded.

Global Youth Leadership Forum (GYLF)

Representatives from all regions of the planet have participated in the forum, which began on Monday. In the opening session, the Minister of Labor, Migration and Social Security, Magdalena Valerio; the president of the Cantabria government, Miguel Ángel Revilla; the councilor of Santander, Noemí Méndez; and the president of the Forum, Jacobo Pombo. At the event, which brought together more than 200 young people, participated, among others, the former secretary general of NATO, Javier Solana or the Nobel Prize Jans Fromow.

The GYLF has been conceived with a permanent and inclusive vocation, forming a great international forum for debate on the main challenges that the world must face during the 21st century. For this, the Forum wanted to involve in this proposal as many countries, regions, international organizations, civil associations and companies as possible, giving rise to a rich, plural, inclusive and decisive space.



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