Words by President of the Government at award ceremony of 29th edition of Macael Prizes

Macael, Almería

Madam President of the Regional Government of Andalusia, Mr Government Representative, Mr Chairman of the Association of Marble Business Leaders, Mr Mayor, ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,

As we are well aware, societies need benchmarks of excellence, because these benchmarks are the only way to arouse something as healthy as emulation and thus drive development and progress. So, well-known around the world, the Macael brand of marble is one of our benchmarks of excellence and also a source of pride for us all. It is thus for many reasons, many of which we have listened to during the course of this evening at the hands of the various speakers. Firstly, because it embodies an ancient tradition and also because it has become essential in such landmark works and monuments as the theatre in Merida, the Alhambra in Granada and some of the most prestigious hotels on the planet.

But, there are assuredly other traits to admire in Macael and the rich human, business and cultural fabric that surrounds it. The marble quarries have been and will continue to be a cornerstone of innovation and technology while keeping the spirit of family businesses alive and offering a model of exemplary collaboration with public authorities. And this same mining industry, as well as being a source of wealth, employment and knowledge throughout the marble district, has contributed, even in the toughest times, to entrenching and uniting local society.

On another note, and I will say this loudly and clearly, ladies and gentlemen, as a Spaniard it fills me with great pride that the best marble in the world takes our name and shows the quality of the Spain Brand on the five continents. And for that I thank you.

I wish to thank you for inviting me to this award ceremony. With close on three decades behind it, the Association of Marble Business Leaders of Andalusia is a benchmark of activity and initiative, and the extraordinary repercussions, year-after-year, of this announcement for awards - as well as the talent of the award-winners, who I would like to congratulate - clearly demonstrate this.

Ladies and gentlemen,

For centuries now, Almeria has been well-known for being a land open to trade. You yourselves are evidence of that; while the stone is in the land, it must be extracted, worked on, perfected and marketed. And only your talent has made that possible. The facts speak for themselves: in hard times for the construction sector, you found a way, once again, to provide your response by opening up to the world, for capturing new markets and, in short, by exporting.

Anyone who looks at Spain's recent economic past, and even before that, will become fully aware that there is nothing better than to open up to the world, capturing new market and, in short, as the President of the Regional Government of Andalusia also reminded us in her speech, to export.

That is why Macael marble is a sign of the changes that have taken place in our economy. Sometimes, we tend to have a reduced vision of our economic fabric, when what is in fact true is that we have some outstanding niches of talent: from the automobile industry, which exports a great deal, to the agri-food sector, which exports a great deal and increasingly more, and you are well aware of that, to engineering, capital goods and the chemical industry. And it is these niches of talent, of which a good example is marble mining in Macael, that speak to us of this new open, exporting, dynamic, internationalised Spain that has no fear of competing; Spain that has moved on leaps and bounds in terms of competitiveness.

The figures for exports speak for themselves: just a few years ago, we still exported less than one quarter of our GDP whereas we now export one third. Spain exports more than such noteworthy countries with a long tradition of exports as the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom and France; needless to say in proportion to their GDP. But we export, and a great deal. And we must continue exporting, because that is where the future of our economy lies and, moreover, we export quality and we must continue working harder to continue doing so.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I don't want to bore you. I just want to say that Spain has undergone, as we were reminded of here, an economic crisis that has lasted many years. We have lived under the threat of a bailout, close to bankruptcy. We have gone through hard times, millions and millions of Spaniards have gone through this. Many people have lost their jobs. But it is true that Spanish society, as has taken place on many occasions throughout the course of its history, is great.

And there are many people here who have held on, who have made a great effort, and I would like to say something, because it is true: there are many business leaders and many small- and medium-sized companies that have opened up to the world, who have found a way to export and, when you exports and sell, you are selling what has been made in Spain by people that are working in Spain and then collecting money from abroad, because that is where you are selling.

This is our challenge for the future, to undoubtedly improve consumption and investment within our country, but also to continue exporting and realise that the marketplace is no longer the next town or village over, or even the next province or country; today's marketplace is the whole world. And I am absolutely convinced that, in the same way as you do this, with your wonderful and brilliant idea of making awards - because they deserve it, because that is just and because it suits us - to people from other continents, you will do this even more in the future.

And I am also an optimist, as the President of the Regional Government of Andalusia said in her speech. We have gone through some tough times, but in Spain there are people with talent and initiative who know how to do things well and who know how to create well-being and wealth. In the end, the economy, like so many other things in life, requires things, above all, to be well done: for you to be serious, formal, believe in what you are doing, take the initiative, do battle and never give up.

Governments do what we can and it is our obligation to generate the right conditions so that society, so that people, can generate well-being and wealth. But governments cannot create jobs. Governments must take very important decisions on infrastructures, on taxes, they must try to help credit flow, but the people who make a country great, who create well-being, who create jobs, are those people that have initiative, those who build up companies. Large, medium or small, it doesn't matter, those who build up companies are those who make countries great.

The commitment I can make to all of you, clearly if I am given the responsibility in the future of continuing to govern in Spain, is that, as I have tried to do over the course of these difficult years, I will ensure that business leaders have the facilities to be able to invest and then that the future of the country will depend on their talent, their hard work, on how well they carry things out, and that their workers, the people who are working there, see the company as their own and also do things well. Governments, I repeat, are charged with attending to public services and creating conditions under which things move ahead well and allow for future growth.

We have lived through some bad years, we all know that, but the last two years have been better. Spain is now growing. It is interesting that we are growing more than any other major European economy. Who would have said that back in 2012. This year we will create 600,000 jobs in our country, and 440,000 last year. The challenge, and if we do things right, this can be achieved, is for us to grow by 3% each year for the years to come, and for us to be able to create 500,000 jobs a year. This can be done, because this year we are going to create 600,000, and many things are necessary for that: firstly, having clear ideas, secondly, doing things well and, thirdly, for the public authorities to find a way to collaborate.

Of course, I express my full willingness and all my interest in collaborating with the Regional Government of Andalusia, with the local councils and with all of you; the people, as it is you that make up our country.

Thank you all very much.

Thank you very much.