The King announced this Friday what will be Spain's main interest at the 28th Ibero-American Summit to be held this Saturday in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic): strengthening Spain's role as a link between the European Union and Latin America. At the closure of the business forum, prior to the meeting of leaders, the King recalled that "Spain is working hard so that the Ibero-American region plays a fundamental role in the face of the Spanish presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of this anus".
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, after attending the European Council this Friday in Brussels, has traveled to the Dominican capital where, since Thursday, the King has already been accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares. Sánchez will take advantage of his presence in Santo Domingo to attend various meetings of the Socialist International, the organization of which he holds the presidency.
This Friday, the King held a meeting with 44 young Ibero-American leaders, with whom he discussed the future challenges facing the region. In the morning he met with the President of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou, the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and, at the National Palace, he held a meeting with the Dominican President, Luis Abinader, host of the Ibero-American Summit .
In his speech at the closing of the business forum, the King recalled the need for this type of meeting, such as the Summit that has been held without interruption since 1991, first annually and now every two years. "It allows us", said the King, "to share the concerns that affect our societies and thus seek possible recommendations that lead us to implement joint measures". The King has also highlighted the uncertainty caused by the "Russian aggression and invasion of Ukraine" that has added to the effects of the pandemic that still persist. Felipe VI also advocated in his speech for "approximate our economies and achieve sustained and sustainable economic growth over time that helps minimize those inequality gaps that persist and could be a source of tension in our societies."
The one in Santo Domingo is the fifth Summit that the King has attended, after being present at the ones in Veracruz (Mexico) in 2014; Cartagena de Indias (Colombia) in 2016; Antigua (Guatemala), in 2018, and Andorra in 2021, the latter still affected by the restrictions of the pandemic.
The plenary meeting of the Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government will be attended by sixteen Latin American leaders, with the notable absence of the President of Brazil, Lula da Silva, who excused his presence because it coincided with his official trip to China. The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, who has never attended any Summit, has confirmed tonight that he will not attend but will instead send the vice president, Delcy Rodríguez. The presidents of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and that of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, almost always absent in international forums, will delegate their respective ministers of Foreign Affairs. Nor is the presence of the President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, expected in the midst of the controversy generated by his policy against organized crime, nor of the President of Peru, Dina Boluarte, who reached her magistracy after the failure of the self-coup of the predecessor of her, Pedro Castillo. The Heads of State and Government of 19 Latin American countries were summoned to the Summit, in addition to those of Spain, Portugal and Andorra.
Those present are participating tonight in a first meeting that will take place in the Ozama fortress, the oldest military construction built by the Spanish five hundred years ago, followed by a dinner at Casa de Bastidas, located like the fortress in the colonial area of Santo Domingo, a historic building whose construction dates back to the early years of the 16th century.
