At the gala dinner of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in the United Kingdom, with the presence of other companies such as Indra, Santander or Ferrovial

MADRID, 5 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The president of Telefónica, José María Álvarez-Pallete, was the guest of honor at the XII 'Annual Gala Dinner of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in the United Kingdom' that took place on Wednesday night, a meeting in which The manager highlighted the investment of 28,000 million pounds (about 32,300 million euros) that the Spanish operator has made in the United Kingdom.

In his speech, Álvarez-Pallete also highlighted that the United Kingdom is "one of the key markets" for Telefónica and recalled that "with the acquisition of O2", the largest mobile network in the country, the Spanish operator "made the strategic decision to enter the British market in 2006".

In addition, he emphasized that Telefónica opened a new chapter in the British telecommunications sector in 2020 and, together with Liberty, announced the merger of O2 and Virgin Media, an operation from which, in his opinion, emerged the "national champion of connectivity".

He also highlighted that the operation was "possible thanks to the openness, vision and commitment" of his partner Liberty Global and said that together they are "making history."

On the other hand, Álvarez-Pallete highlighted the "ties" between both countries and the increase in their commercial relations, which "exceed 10,000 million euros" annually.

"But above all this, the British and the Spanish have one thing in common, that our relationship is based above all on people," he stressed.

The president of Telefónica also reflected on the transformation that Spain has experienced in the last 60 years and the importance of the operator in that change, while recalling that next year the company will celebrate its centenary.

"We are fortunate to be experiencing the greatest accumulation of technology in the history of humanity, a digital revolution that is creating wealth, improving well-being and generating growth opportunities for everyone," he highlighted.

"Technology is already changing everything (...) it is time to put people and values ​​at the center. And to do this we have to act together. The United Kingdom, Spain and Europe, as a whole, are crucial in this debate," he added.

The gala dinner of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in the United Kingdom was also attended by various institutional authorities from the Spanish and British governments, the European Union delegation in the country and representatives of other companies, such as Indra, Santander, Garrigues, BBVA, Ferrovial or Dragados.

In this sense, it is worth remembering that Indra announced this week the closing of the purchase of the British company specialized in aerospace and defense communications Park Air, an operation with which the Spanish technology firm has strengthened its position in these sectors.