The Minister of Foreign Affairs, the European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, has welcomed the entry of India, Turkey, Angola and the Association of Caribbean States (AEC) as new observers of the Ibero-American Conference, which expands the presence of Europe, Asia, Africa and the Caribbean in a space that brings together 22 countries and nearly 700 million people.
Albares has stressed that "The participation of these new observers strengthens the global reach of the Ibero-American Community and highlights the growing interest in collaborating with a space for dialogue, political consensus-building and cooperation", during the High-Level Dialogue with Associated and Consultative Observers held within the framework of the Ibero-American Summit.
The head of Spanish diplomacy has also highlighted the ability to "generate consensus among diverse countries" at an event that brought together Ibero-American foreign ministers and organizations with observer status to "exchange perspectives on the main global challenges and explore new avenues for cooperation", according to Foreign Affairs, in an official note.
The Ibero-American Summit opens this Wednesday in Madrid, 35 years after the first edition organized in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 1991.
NEW GENERAL TREATY OF FRIENDSHIP AND COOPERATION WITH PANAMA
In this context, Albares held a bilateral meeting with his Panamanian counterpart, Javier Martínez-Acha, in which the new General Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation was signed, replacing the 1953 agreement, "of a pre-constitutional nature" and "limited to the peaceful settlement of disputes, and adapting the framework of the relationship to the current reality".
The new document sets out the "close ties of friendship, mutual respect and the historical, cultural and linguistic links between Spain and Panama", as well as the shared purpose of both countries to "strengthen their coordination in the political, economic, technological, educational, cultural, legal and consular fields" and "in development cooperation".
"EXTREME HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL PHENOMENA AND THE ROLE OF INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION"
Albares has also chaired a meeting at the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) with Ibero-American counterparts and representatives of international organizations, focused on the role of cooperation in strengthening "climate resilience" and "water security in the region," as well as in the face of "extreme hydrometeorological phenomena."
At the AECID meeting, the vice chancellor of Bolivia for Foreign Relations, the executive vice president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Everett H. Eissenstat, and the secretary for Ibero-American Cooperation, Lorena Larios Rodríguez, have taken part.
CALLS FOR "WORKING WITH COMPANIES" IN A "CHANGING GEOPOLITICAL ENVIRONMENT"
During the opening of the Ibero-American Business Meeting, which is held this Wednesday and Thursday, the minister stressed that "supporting companies" in a changing geopolitical environment" is not "an accessory task" but "a responsibility" of the Executive's "foreign action."
THE "CHALLENGE" OF AI
Albares has pointed out that "one of the great results" of this week's summit will be "introducing everything that affects artificial intelligence into our space" in the field of culture.
He has emphasized that this is one of the "great challenges" so that "the Siri of the future" does not only collect "one of our accents" but "with all our nuances and our richness."