Madrid to bring 2,000 business and policy leaders together for Ibero-American investment talks

More than 2,000 participants from 42 countries will gather in Madrid on November 3 and 4 for the XVI Ibero-American Business Meeting, bringing together business leaders, governments, multilateral organisations and investors at a time when the region is seeking to strengthen its role in an increasingly fragmented global economy.

The two-day event at Las Ventas will include more than 50 speakers, over ten ministers and 23 presidents of business organisations represented within the Ibero-American Business Council (CEIB).

Organised by CEIB, the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB) and the Spanish Confederation of Business Organisations (CEOE), the meeting forms part of the official programme of the XXX Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government.

Under the theme “Ibero-America facing the challenges of the global economy: strengthening public-private cooperation,” the programme will focus on how governments and companies can respond to structural changes affecting trade, investment and competitiveness.

The discussions will cover global economic transformation, strategic assets, productive development, innovation, the knowledge economy and the conditions required for sustainable and inclusive growth.

Artificial intelligence, digitalisation, the energy transition and talent will also feature prominently as governments and businesses assess how Ibero-America can turn its natural resources, industrial capabilities and growing technology ecosystems into greater investment and value creation.

Governments and companies move closer to the same table

One of the defining features of this year’s edition is the greater presence of governments within the business programme.

For the first time, ministers from Paraguay, Colombia, Honduras and Bolivia will take part in a session alongside regional business leaders, while heads of state and government are also expected to participate in working sessions beyond the traditional closing conversation.

The change reinforces the role of the meeting as a platform for public-private dialogue rather than simply a gathering of corporate organisations.

The opening will bring together CEOE and CEIB President Antonio Garamendi, Ibero-American Secretary General Andrés Allamand, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares and Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo.

Among the international figures scheduled to participate are Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of UN Trade and Development; Nadia Calviño, President of the European Investment Bank; Sergio Díaz-Granados, Executive President of CAF; José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, Executive Secretary of ECLAC; and Maciej Witucki, President of BusinessEurope.

Representatives from the OECD, OAS, IDB, BCIE, universities, investment agencies and other institutions will also participate.

The breadth of the programme reflects a growing effort to connect the traditional diplomatic architecture of the Ibero-American summits with businesses that ultimately make investment, hiring and supply-chain decisions.

Since 2016, the Business Meeting has been the formal private-sector component of the Ibero-American Summit process.

More recently, business organisations have begun presenting their own commitments to governments. Previous editions addressed investment and youth employability, while the Madrid meeting is expected to culminate in a new Business Commitment for the Future of Ibero-America to be delivered to participating heads of state and government.

Investment, technology and a changing global economy

The economic backdrop gives the meeting additional relevance.

Ibero-American economies are navigating a global environment shaped by trade fragmentation, competition for strategic resources, the energy transition, artificial intelligence and the reconfiguration of global value chains.

For governments, the challenge is attracting investment while developing the infrastructure, regulatory frameworks and human capital required to move beyond commodity exports.

For companies, the region represents a combination of large consumer markets, energy and mineral resources, food production capacity and expanding technology ecosystems.

The Madrid meeting will therefore place particular emphasis on the mechanisms needed to convert those assets into higher-value production and deeper regional integration.

Public-private cooperation is expected to feature prominently in discussions around infrastructure, energy and innovation, while the technology agenda will examine how AI and digitalisation can raise productivity without widening gaps between countries or between large companies and SMEs.

The gathering also coincides with the 10th anniversary of CEIB, reflecting the increasing institutional role given to business organisations within the Ibero-American summit process.

At the end of the meeting, Garamendi will transfer the CEIB presidency to Anabel Gallardo, President of the Honduran Council of Private Enterprise (COHEP).

The event will conclude on November 4 with the participation of King Felipe VI of Spain, following the traditional conversation with Ibero-American heads of state and government.

For companies operating between Europe and Latin America, the Madrid meeting comes at a particularly active moment for cross-Atlantic economic relations.

Its central test will be whether the increasingly close dialogue between governments, multilateral institutions and the private sector can move beyond declarations and translate into investment, stronger value chains and concrete business opportunities across Ibero-America