The King has met with the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, at the United Nations headquarters, on the occasion of his visit to New York this Thursday to collect an award in recognition of his international projection. Felipe VI and Guterres held a lunch at 2:00 p.m. -10:00 p.m. in Spain-, in which they exchanged impressions on various international issues, including, without a doubt, the conflict in Ukraine, which is already three months. Accompanying the King on this trip is the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, Luis Cuesta.
The appointment with Guterres is the fifth face-to-face meeting with Felipe VI. The last time they met was in July 2021, during the lunch that the Monarch offered him at the Royal Palace on the occasion of the UN Secretary General's visit to Spain. Previously, Felipe VI was in charge of making Guterres' "laudatio" speech when he received the 2019 Aachen Charlemagne International Prize for his defense and promotion of European values.
The lunch that Guterres offered to the King at the United Nations headquarters was closed this week. The King's House communicated on Wednesday an extension of Felipe VI's agenda of activities in New York, which included, together with the meeting with the UN Secretary General, a meeting at 9 in the morning -15 hours in Spain- with members of the Spain-United States Chamber of Commerce, an organization in charge of promoting business and economic collaboration between the two countries.
The King will end his day in New York receiving the medal awarded by the Foreign Policy Association (FPA) in an act at the Harvard Club, in which the president of Fincantieri, Giuseppe Bono, and the former US Secretary of National Security will also be awarded Heh Johnson. Felipe VI will pronounce a few words at the beginning of the dinner, reports the Casa del Rey.
With this medal, the FPA recognizes individuals who demonstrate responsible internationalism and work to expand public understanding of international affairs. Among the winners in previous editions are the former mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg or the former president of the ECB Jean-Claude Trichet.
Founded more than 100 years ago, the Foreign Policy Association's mission is to serve as a catalyst for developing awareness, understanding, and informed opinion about US foreign policy and global issues.
The King's trip to New York is the first he has made to the United States since June 2018, when he was with Queen Letizia in San Antonio, New Orleans and Washington, where they were received by then-US President Donald Trump and his wife. , Melanie. Trump invited the King and Queen to a state visit in April 2020, but the pandemic forced it to be cancelled.
