Felipe VI is proud of Spanish solidarity with Latin America

USPA NEWS - The King of Spain, Felipe VI, attended this Wednesday the celebration of the XXVII Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, which was held in Andorra, in the Pyrenees mountain range that separates France from Spain. Previously, the Monarch closed the XIII Ibero-American Business Meeting, prior to the Summit. During the dinner offered on the occasion of the inauguration of the XXVII Ibero-American Summit, Felipe VI recalled that "since my first official trip outside of Spain, as Prince of Asturias, to Cartagena de Indias in 1983, they have been Many occasions in which I have had the opportunity to visit your countries establishing a deep and firm emotional bond with all of you. Any fact or circumstance that highlights the closeness of Spain to all of Latin America represents for me, personally and institutionally, the greatest priority."

The King continued his speech recalling his visit to Andorra on a State Trip with Queen Letizia: "I return to visit Andorra after the first State trip that the Queen and I made to this dear and hospitable country - Pyrenean and Iberian - less than one month. And it is even more extraordinary to attend an Ibero-American Summit here, the first organized by Andorra, the most recent member of the Ibero-American Conference, which since its participation in 2005 has shown a firm commitment to our Community of Nations," underlined the King.

Felipe VI highlighted his commitment to all of Ibero-America: "the closeness of Spain to all of Ibero-America represents for me, personally and institutionally, the highest priority," he said. To conclude, he made an assessment of the host country in the following terms: "Andorra will leave ““with its leadership and its achievements““, there is no doubt, a valuable mark in the history of the Ibero-American Summits. And today we want to acknowledge their contributions to our heritage shared, including the Andorran Commitment on Innovation for Sustainable Development."

22 Ibero-American countries

Heads of State and Government, and representatives of the 22 Ibero-American countries, were invited to participate in the XXVII Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, under the slogan 'Innovation for sustainable development. Objective 2030. Ibero-America facing the challenge of the coronavirus' with, on the table, current central issues such as economic recovery, access to vaccines and the effect of the health crisis on the most vulnerable groups.

On the morning of this Wednesday, the King held a meeting, in Room 2 of the Hotel Sport Hermitage, with the President of the Portuguese Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. Present at the meeting were, on the part of the Spanish delegation, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Arancha González Laya, and on the Portuguese side, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Augusto Santos, and the Ambassador of the Portuguese Republic in Spain, Joao Costa.

Later, Felipe VI went to the Grandalla Room of the Hotel Sport Hermitage to meet with the Cap de Govern of Andorra, Xavier Espot. During the meeting they were accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Arancha González Laya, and the ambassador on a special mission for the Ibero-American Summits, Carlos Abella; and on the Andorran side, the Chief of Staff, Guillem Casal, the Andorran ambassador in Spain, Vicenç Mateu, and the first secretary of the Andorran Embassy in Spain, Gemma Raduán, among others.

After the meetings, the King of Spain took his place in the plenary hall, followed by the master of ceremonies, Martín Rivero, coordinator of the SEGIB's Social Cohesion and South-South Cooperation Area, to welcome and announce the screening of the video presentation of the inclusive vaccination campaign for people with disabilities, within the framework of the Ibero-American Disability Program.

After the round table, a video was shown on the importance of an inclusive vaccination campaign for people with disabilities. In the afternoon, the plenary session began. In this act, the Heads of State and Government and the Ibero-American Secretary General participated. On the Spanish side, the King and the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, intervened. The Monarch, in his speech, highlighted that “the results contained in the Andorra Declaration highlight five principles that are at the heart of the Ibero-American project: solidarity, the defense of our Community in a global world, the common project of citizens, the conviction that we need strong, modern economies with creative responses committed to the challenges of the environment and climate change, and the simultaneity between respect for tradition and openness to modernity. They are principles that make us feel proud of the Ibero-American identity that we share.“

Likewise, Felipe VI highlighted that “Andorra is hosting an Ibero-American Summit for the first time, and it does so in an exceptional context, that of a pandemic that has marked the future of the planet and of Humanity during the last year. A period of painful loss of human life, of difficulties and concerns. But it has also been a moment for solidarity, for courage, for example and the will to move forward.“

And he expressed the pride he feels “for the solidarity of my compatriots with the sister nations of America. When in Spain we were going through the most difficult moments of the pandemic, we always had our Ibero-American brothers very present and initiatives based on the strongest sense of solidarity and cooperation were launched,“ adding that“ it has undoubtedly been about a mutual solidarity: Spaniards residing in other Ibero-American countries have been treated in their health systems, as those of those countries have been and are in ours. For this reason, I want to thank the Ibero-American Presidents for the help that our compatriots have received in their countries,“ he said.

He stressed that, “however, it is not the first time that we have achieved this degree of solidarity. In recent decades, in both hemispheres we have experienced economic and financial crises that have had important social and migratory consequences. On more than one occasion, these crises have occurred alternately, so that on both sides of the Atlantic we have been each other's lifeline. In this process, the migratory flows generated have had the effect of getting to know each other better and becoming more united, especially in the most difficult moments, reinforcing our Ibero-American Community,“ recalled the King.

He concluded his intervention, stating that “the next Summit will be held in the Dominican Republic, the historic atrium of America, home to the first university in that hemisphere and beloved sister nation in which the Queen and I have been received with so much affection in numerous occasions,“ and that for “this relay at the forefront of the continuous construction of an increasingly solid structure in our Community, the Dominican Republic and all the other sister nations can always count on the firm will of Spain to project ourselves together all the Ibero-Americans towards an increasingly promising future.“