Duch spoke at the Investment Forum of the Business Council Alliance for Latin America (CEAPI), held at CaixaForum Barcelona, an event bringing together political and business leaders to foster alliances and investments between Latin America and Europe.
The minister warned that current geopolitical, economic, and technological shifts are altering international balances, impacting businesses, supply chains, energy and production costs, and Europe's strategic autonomy.
In this context, he stressed the importance of deepening relations with partners such as Mercosur, Mexico, Chile, India, or Australia, and highlighted Latin America's potential as an economic partner for Catalonia.
According to data from the second quarter of 2026, Catalan investment in the region reached 797.1 million euros, a figure demonstrating the potential of transatlantic cooperation.
Duch emphasized that a priority of the Government of Catalonia's external action is to foster a strategic relationship with the world, particularly in economics, adding that Catalonia aims to be an active contributor to Europe's openness.
The minister noted that Europe needs to strengthen its single market, gain scale, enhance security and technological capacity, and reduce strategic dependencies to overcome its vulnerabilities.
Finally, he championed Catalonia's assets as a strategic partner, including its geographical position, infrastructure, diversified industry, universities, talent, and an internationally projected technological ecosystem.
