Lunch for members with Jordi Valls, deputy mayor of Barcelona City Council

In June, the Japan-Spain Business Circle (CEJE) has started a series of meals with personalities from different fields, to discuss current, interesting and important issues for the development of business activities.

At the first meal, held on June 4 at the Círculo Ecuestre, members had the opportunity to meet and talk with a key person in the city of Barcelona, ​​Mr. Jordi Valls, Deputy Mayor for Economy, Finance, Economic Promotion and Tourism of the Barcelona City Council.

At the start of the meal, Jordi Valls addressed the audience. The deputy mayor of Barcelona stressed that over the past year the city council had promoted public-private relations, generating greater complicity with the private sector.

Valls explained that Japan shares very similar challenges with Europe, and specifically Barcelona: rapid ageing, a decrease in the workforce, a high debt-to-GDP ratio, limited access to natural resources, the significant weight of the services sector and the substantial tension in health services and innovation in this area. Jordi Valls also launched two ideas on which both countries are based: public security and economic security.

For the deputy mayor, both Japan and Barcelona have three important challenges ahead: strategic autonomy in the face of the great dependence on products, technological transformation and ecological transition. Attendees were also able to ask Jordi Valls about various current issues affecting the city and the economic activity of companies.

The next CEJE lunch will take place next Wednesday, June 12, with Nacho Cardero, director of El Confidencial.