The Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, has intensified his efforts over the last year and a half to promote the use of Spanish in multilateral diplomacy. Proof of this is the launch of two new Groups of Friends of Spanish (GAE in Spanish) in The Hague and at the OECD, which are essential for concerted action in the effort to consolidate Spanish as a reference language in the international legal sphere and in the global economy.
The international promotion of Spanish is a strategic pillar of Spain's foreign policy, and its use in multilateral diplomacy is a key objective shared by all other countries that have Spanish as an official language.
In this regard, Ibero-America also enjoys the privilege of two global languages, Spanish and Portuguese -alongside other co-official and indigenous languages - making the strengthening of this legacy a priority and will run through all actions linked to the 2026 Ibero-American Summit in Madrid
Spanish in the world
With over 500 million native speakers, Spanish is the world's second most widely spoken language, a global language, the official language of three continents – Europe, America and Africa – and an official and working language of the United Nations.
"The Government is firmly committed to Spanish as a key asset in our foreign policy. That is why, four years ago, we created the Directorate-General for Spanish in the World", recalls Albares. He emphasises, "in such a complex international context where multilateralism and dialogue are more necessary than ever, Spanish is a tool for diplomacy and cooperation, for progress and for peace."
New Groups of Friends of Spanish
The latest development in this regard is the creation of the Group of Friends of Spanish at the OECD, which came into being on 22 July, when the permanent delegates of the Spanish-speaking Member States (Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Spain and Mexico) presented the group's Constitutive Charter to the Secretary-General, Mathias Corman.
The delegates thus reaffirmed their joint commitment to promoting the use and dissemination of Spanish within the OECD, which, at Spain's instigation, will conduct a major technical study on the economic weight of Spanish on a global scale for the first time.
In turn, the GAE in The Hague is the result of an agreement between 17 Spanish-speaking countries to promote the use of Spanish in international organisations based in the Dutch city. The GAE will work to replicate successes such as that achieved at the Hague Conference on Private International Law, where Spanish has been an official working language since July 2024, or the recognition of Spanish as an authentic language of the International Treaty establishing the Ukraine Claims Commission (UCC), last April.
In addition to the aforementioned Groups of Friends of Spanish in The Hague, the OECD and the OAS, there are already other similar groups at the main United Nations headquarters (New York, Geneva, Vienna and Paris).
Spanish momentum
In the last year and a half, Spain has signed 12 bilateral memoranda of understanding with Ibero-American countries to promote Spanish in diplomatic circles and international organisations. The memoranda reaffirm the global nature of Spanish and its status as an official language of the United Nations, promoting the strengthening of the various Groups of Friends of Spanish.
In this context, it is important to highlight Spain's efforts both in boosting the activity of existing Groups of Friends of Spanish and in creating new ones, which are essential for fostering coordinated collaboration with Spanish-speaking countries in the multilateral arena.
Thus, the so-called "Ñ Circle" of the Organisation of American States (OAS), created last year, promoted a declaration of support from the Permanent Council of this organisation in March for the campaign to make Spanish an official language of the International Court of Justice. At the recent OAS General Assembly in Antigua and Barbuda, held in June, the Ñ Circle also succeeded in establishing the International Spanish Language Week, to be held every year in April.
NON OFFICIAL TRANSLATION