Minister Jaume Duch says public and private stakeholders must continue working together to promote Catalonia abroad

The Governing Council of Catalonia International met online today, with representatives from 32 of the Consortium's 38 member organisations in attendance. On behalf of Catalan President Salvador Illa, the meeting of the Consortium's highest governing body was chaired by Jaume Duch, Minister for European Union and Foreign Action of the Government of Catalonia.

The Minister welcomed the participants and thanked them for their contribution to Catalonia's international outreach efforts. According to Duch, the ability to bring together public and private sector efforts is one of Catalonia International's key strengths, and continued work is needed to enhance Catalonia's visibility and influence around the world. He praised the organisation's work in areas such as training and talent development, relations with international media, and the organisation of events on significant dates such as Europe Day. Looking ahead and considering a rapidly changing international context marked by geopolitical, economic, technological and security-related developments, the Catalan Minister called for broad cooperation to transform government strategies into country-wide strategies.

The main items on the Council's agenda included the approval of the 2025 activity report and its corresponding financial statement; the approval of the annual accounts and presentation of the audit report for the 2025 financial year; and the approval of the proposed budget for 2027, which remains unchanged at €2,119,000. The remaining agenda items concerned organisational and administrative matters.

Laura Foraster i Lloret, Director-General of Catalonia International, presented the review of activities carried out during the previous year and expressed great satisfaction with the work accomplished. She explained that 2025 was a year of consolidation for the organisation. Following the approval of new statutes and the official name change in 2024, 2025 allowed the organisation to fully deploy its new identity and reinforce its positioning: "After a year of change and transformation, what followed was a year of institutional stability, communication consistency and brand strengthening."

With the new name fully integrated into all activities, Catalonia International continued to pursue its mission with the same commitment to public service and the international projection of Catalonia. During 2025, the Consortium organised 44 activities -almost one every week- which brought together more than 4,000 participants and 529 speakers, generating 138 media impacts. These figures reflect not only the intensity of the organisation's activity, but also its ability to create spaces for dialogue and engagement with diverse and influential actors around the world.