ICEX España Exportación e Inversiones celebrated the 40th anniversary of its foundation in November, in a conference under the motto “Thinking about the future”. The act has been closed by his Majesty King Felipe VI.

During the closing ceremony, King Felipe VI pointed out that “ICEX has played a very relevant role in the process of opening up Spain, which has made us the country we are: open, dynamic and with an eye on the future of our companies. ”. Likewise, he has affirmed: “I am sure that ICEX will continue to evolve, grow, fulfilling its mission, always with a continuous and necessary capacity for adaptation”.

The event, which has been inaugurated by the Secretary of State for Commerce and President of ICEX, Xiana Méndez –from Pontevedra-, has been structured into two panels: the first, “From yesterday to today: milestones and trajectory” revolved around the experience of former heads of the institution; and in the second, “The ICEX of the next 20 years” several companies have contributed their experience in internationalization.

ICEX has the clear mission of contributing to the competitiveness of the Spanish economy through internationalization. Throughout these 40 years, ICEX has varied its catalog of programs and services and has opted for new sectors, new types of companies and new internationalization tools, such as sustainability and digitization.

In addition, in the last decade, ICEX has expanded its mandate, which initially was only support for internationalization, and today also includes attracting foreign investment and training for internationalization.