The Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, has celebrated this Friday several bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Bolivia, Chile, Peru, and Colombia, focused on the preparation of the upcoming Ibero-American Summit.
Albares, who has traveled to Colombia to accompany King Felipe VI at the inauguration of Abelardo de la Espriella as president of the country, has met in Cali with the new Colombian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Omar Bula Escobar, to whom he has conveyed his congratulations on the recent appointment, according to the Ministry in a statement.
In parallel, the head of Spanish diplomacy has held meetings with the Foreign Minister of Bolivia, Héctor Francisco Huanca; with that of Chile, José Francisco Pérez; and with that of Peru, Carlos Espá. With all of them, he has reviewed the state of bilateral relations and has taken steps in organizing the Ibero-American Summit that will take place in Madrid on November 4 and 5.
Additionally, Albares has had a telephone conversation with the Minister of Foreign Relations and Foreign Trade of Venezuela, Félix Plasencia, to congratulate him as well on his appointment and to reiterate Spain's willingness to support the Venezuelan people in the humanitarian response following the earthquakes.
According to the note released by Foreign Affairs, Albares has emphasized "Spain's willingness for the Madrid Summit to provide concrete results and broad consensus and respond to the shared priorities of the 22 countries of the Ibero-American Community."
The minister has stressed that "this meeting represents an opportunity to reaffirm the value of a space for political concertation that brings together 680 million people on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as Spain's commitment to an increasingly close relationship between Europe and Ibero-America," referring to the political and demographic weight of the bloc.
Albares has also detailed that the Summit will be structured around three main thematic axes: sustainability and the environment; innovation and social inclusion; and childhood and youth, with the aim of guiding the work and conclusions of the meeting.
The head of Foreign Affairs has taken advantage of his contacts to invite his Ibero-American colleagues to get actively involved in the final phase of preparations, which includes ministerial meetings, sectoral forums, and meetings of National Coordinators and Heads of Cooperation prior to the meeting in November in Madrid.