El País expands its global edition

Grupo PRISA and the Dominican company, Multimedios del Caribe, have signed an agreement which will see the newspapers El País and El Caribe collaborate in a number of areas, including distribution and advertising sales. The agreement, which will allow El País's global edition grow on the other side of the Atlantic, aims at bringing about further collaboration in the areas of television, radio and internet.

Guest of honor at the announcement, held on May 19 at the Grupo PRISA head office, was the President of the Dominican Republic, Leonel Fernández Reyna, who was on a state visit to Spain. He commented on the agreement between both companies during a joint press conference with Spanish president, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.

Also attending the event were were the presidents of both companies, Ignacio Polanco from PRISA, and  Félix García from Multimedios del Caribe. Mr. García spoke of the shared "commitment to democratic values and the identification with civil liberties" of both papers. "The journalistic quality and editorial policy coupled with the prestige enjoyed by both newspapers are the keys to the success of this joint initiative," he added. After touching on the cultural ties between Spain and the Dominican Republic, Mr García explained that the initiative, which will see El País printed and distributed by El Caribe in the Dominican Republic, is a "natural step". Multimedios El Caribe C por A is active in the areas of press (El Caribe), radio (CDN), television (CDN) and internet (through the online version of El Caribe).

Also present at the event were PRISA CEO Juan Luis Cebrián; Manuel Estrella, executive vice-president of Multimedios del Caribe; Jesús Ceberio, director general of the Press Division at Grupo PRISA; Javier Moreno, director of El País; and Miguel Ángel Cayuela, CEO of Santillana.