The 3rd European Union-Latin America and the Caribbean Business Summit got underway this Sunday in Madrid under the Spanish Presidency of the EU and in the context of the 6th EU-LAC Summit of Heads of State and Government, which will be held on Tuesday.

The EU-LAC Business Summit is an international event which takes place every two years and assembles business leaders and politicians from both regions, in order to strengthen relationships between Latin American and European Union companies, while promoting the economic and social development of these areas.

Economic relations between the two regions, as well as topics related to Innovation and Technology, will be analysed at the Business Summit. Final conclusions and recommendations will appear in a Document to be presented to those Heads of State and Government participating at the Sixth European Union -LAC Summit.

Attending the event, among others, are the Vice-President of Business Europe and President of the Spanish Confederation of Employers’ Organizations (CEOE), Gerardo Díaz Ferrán, and the President of the Confederation of Latin American Business People within the Organization of American States (OAS) and Executive Vice-President of International Organisation of Employers (IOE), Daniel Funes de Rioja.

The President of the Spanish Government, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, and the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Durão Barroso, were due to speak at the opening ceremony, but they were unable to get there from Santander, where they were taking part in the EU-Mexico Summit, on account of technical difficulties, the organisers explained.The President of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, and the Portuguese Prime Minister, José Sócrates did speak.