Spain attends Ibero-American Summit with the aim of strengthening ties between the EU and Latin America under the Spanish Presidency of the EU

José Manuel Albares will begin his schedule in Santo Domingo tomorrow with a dinner offered by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic, Roberto Álvarez, which will be attended by all the Ibero-American foreign affairs ministers as the forerunner to the meeting of foreign affairs ministers which will kick off events on Friday, 24 March. During this meeting, the minister will focus his speech on highlighting relations between the European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean, while urging his counterparts to harness the opportunities of the Spanish Presidency of the EU in the second half of 2023. 

As regards the activities on the side-lines of the summit, the minister will take part in the “Ibero-American Meeting of Young Leaders” that will meet in Santo Domingo under the slogan “To Consolidate the New Agenda of Young People and Sustainability”. Following lunch, the Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs will attend the 14th Ibero-American Business Meeting, at which he plans to attend the discussion of Heads of State and Government in which the King is taking part. Following that, and with the full Spanish delegation headed up by King Felipe VI, which the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, is also due to attend, José Manuel Albares will also take part in the inaugural event of the 27th Ibero-American Summit, which will develop its work during the course of Saturday, 25 March.

Spain will enthusiastically address these work meetings at which a series of documents will be adopted relating to such pressing current affairs as food security, environmental challenges and the guarantees needed to create digital societies, to which the Ibero-American community will respond by means of a raft of documents.

Specifically, an initiative is planned to be adopted with a view to guaranteeing the enjoyment of the right to food for all people at a time of serious crises for food security caused by such situations as the war in Ukraine. By means of the document entitled “The critical route of inclusive and sustainable food security in Ibero-America”, a response will be offered to one of the most immediate challenges being faced in the international context.

The search for actions that guarantee sustainable development that respects nature will be contained in the “Ibero-American Environmental Charter”, which reflects a shared vision of the Ibero-American community towards the global challenges posed by climate change. These challenges also include the need to guarantee fundamental rights and responsibilities in the forging of inclusive, just, fair and equal digital societies, an aspect that will be embodied in the “Ibero-American Charter of Principles and Rights in Digital Environments”.

The summit will also be a forum for space and dialogue between the Heads of State and Government of the 22 member countries of the Ibero-American community. All the representatives of the countries that make up this community shall also have the chance to meet in person for the first time in five years in the wake of the pandemic. And Spain, like the rest of its Ibero-American partners, will focus its efforts on catering for the needs of the Ibero-American community under the perspective of the Spanish Presidency of the EU, a mandate that it will assume on 1 July 2023 with a view to obtaining tangible results for citizens.