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Instituto Franklin - UAH and Florida: a support to the relations with the United States
Instituto Franklin – UAH and the Fundación España - Florida 500 Años organized the seminar “From Pensacola in 1559 to the relations today between Spain and the United States,” with the collaboration of the Embassy of the United States in Spain.
The seminar took place last December 16th at the International Conference Hall of the Colegio Mayor de San Ildefonso, one of the most emblematic buildings of the Universidad de Alcalá (UAH), and included the presence of UAH’s President, Virgilio Zapatero.
The session was divided into two round table discussions. The first was moderated by Julio Cañero, Deputy Director of Instituto Franklin - UAH. Professor Gary Mormino of the University of South Florida, Almudena Hernández Ruigómez of the Universidad Complutense, and José Antonio Gurpegui, Director of Instituto Franklin - UAH, participated in this round table, which exposed a historic and academic vision of the relations between Spain and the United States from the first settlement in Pensacola in 1559. The table discussed on the strategic importance of Florida for the Spaniards of the 16th Century and how this vision evolved until the 19th Century. They also emphasized on the important role that Spanish funding played in the American Revolutionary War.
The second round table centered on a business viewpoint of the current relations between Spain and the United States. Moderated by Emilio Sánchez, President of Fundación España - Florida 500 Años, it counted with the participation of Thomas Genton, Counselor of Culture, Education, and Press of the Embassy of the United States in Spain; Román Escolano, Director of Institutional Relations of BBVA; Jaime Montalvo, General Director of Promotion of ICEX; and Antonio Garrigues, President of Garrigues Abogados and former President of the Fundación Consejo España - Estados Unidos.
Thomas Genton, representing the United States Embassy in Spain, reviewed the current status of the relations between both countries, emphasizing on the fields of education, business, and politics. He also analyzed the standing of the global economic crisis and how both countries can help each other get out of it.
Román Escolano presented the actual situation of the US financial market and commented on how the BBVA Group had taken advantage of circumstances in order to convert them into business opportunities. Mr. Escolano showed how the Spanish banking model had managed to penetrate into the North American market with an increasing presence of BBVA, with 13,000 employees in the United States.
Jaime Montalvo summarized the role of his institution in helping Spanish initiatives in the United States. In the same way, he stressed how the image of Spain is evolving in the North American country through the promotion of our country by the Spanish companies and institutions on the US.
To finish, Antonio Garrigues commented on the possibilities for progress in the relations between the two countries, stressing the role that the University can play in it. In words of Mr. Garrigues, Spain, after England, is potentially the best ally of the United States, given the Spanish legacy in this country, their common past, and their mutual interest. Finally, he stressed that relations should aspire to exceed the traditional means on a political and economic basis and open others, such as education and culture.
The seminar ““From Pensacola in 1559 to the relations today between Spain and the United States” linked the academic and the business viewpoint regarding these relations. Furthermore, it served to summarize the historic evolution of the ties between both countries and the terms on which we should work in order to better the association between Spain and the United States.
