The President of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, has confirmed his desire to strengthen the network of delegations abroad during this legislature, as an instrument to "put Catalonia back on the international scene". Aragonès has detailed that, with the appointment this Tuesday of the representative in Andorra, there will be 20 delegates from the Generalitat, "more than ever", and has announced a new diplomatic figure, the envoy of the Government, which will allow to have "more and better " international presence. "We will open the delegations that are necessary and we will allocate the envoys that are necessary to move towards a stronger and more significant representation abroad", Aragonès stressed, in an appearance before the press, together with the Minister of Foreign Action, Meritxell Serret, before presenting the strategic lines of Catalan foreign action 2023-2026, before the Consell de l'Acció Exterior i de Relacions amb la UE.
"Today we can affirm emphatically that the Government once again has a prominent international presence", said the president, at the beginning of his speech. "We have seen it in the meetings held on the trip to Latin America, but also in the last visits and joint work spaces with the European institutions", highlighted Aragonès, who recalled that "relations at the highest level have been resumed with the European Commission after seven years", at various meetings in Brussels and Barcelona.
In the Government's plans, the delegations have a prominent role, and the objective is to "re-establish, deploy and consolidate" the network abroad, the president pointed out, in the presentation before the Consell de l'Acció Exterior, the body for participation and monitoring of Catalan foreign action, together with entities and organizations of civil society.
Currently, the Generalitat has 13 fully operational delegations: the European Union (Brussels), France, the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States and Canada, Italy, Central Europe, Portugal, Switzerland, Southeast Europe, the Nordic and Baltic countries, Mexico and Central America, and North Africa. To these are added seven partially operational, that is, those that have an appointed delegate, but are yet to start their office or develop a structure: Southern Cone, Senegal, Southern Africa, South Korea, Japan, Brazil and Andorra. To this is expected to add, in the future, the delegation of Colombia.
As a complement to the delegations, Aragonès explained that his government will have a new figure, that of the Government's envoys, "a first step to have more and better institutional presence in the international arena" and that "it could be the step prior to the opening of possible new delegations". The first envoy will be to Ireland, "a country that after Brexit has to pay special attention to the Generalitat", he pointed out.
The president has also reported that the "priority frameworks and areas" on which the work of the Consell de l'Acció Exterior will focus are the European Union and the Mediterranean, "to help respond to the great challenges we face as a continent" .
For her part, Minister Meritxell Serret stressed the will to continue opening new delegations, to "be useful to the public and also to the counterparts", with the aim of "continuing to improve the reputation of Catalonia in the world". . Serret also explained that, taking advantage of the wide network of consulates established in Barcelona, her department will strengthen the connection with the consular body and with the group of social and economic agents present in the Consell de l'Acció Exterior.
