The Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, today presented the new Strategy for Asia-Pacific to the Council of Ministers, the roadmap with which Spain will guide its action in the coming years towards a region that has become the true centre of gravity of international relations.
Albares stressed that this Strategy aims to consolidate this vector of Spain's global projection between now and 2029. The main lines of action focus on deepening political relations and economic ties, with a diplomatic deployment commensurate with the weight of Asia-Pacific; working with partners in the region to achieve shared, sustainable and secure prosperity; contributing to Europe's strategic projection in Asia-Pacific, supporting new economic agreements and stable relationship frameworks; and continuing to strengthen cooperation through science, innovation, culture, public diplomacy and connections between societies, as an essential complement to the political and economic agenda.
In the words of Minister Albares, this Strategy aims to ‘articulate our strategic interests, objectives and actions with a region that is central to contemporary geopolitics and geo-economics’. The minister wanted to frame it at a time when ‘Asia-Pacific is taking on an increasingly prominent role thanks to its demographic, economic and technological weight’.
To meet the objectives of the Strategy, the document presents initiatives such as the creation of a mechanism for strategic dialogue with China at ministerial level, the Spain-India Dual Year 2026, the signing of the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as a basis for cooperation with this important organisation, the creation of a ministerial commission on Asian affairs, and the strengthening of Spain's diplomatic presence in Asia-Pacific, which already has 15 embassies, 3 diplomatic offices and 9 consulates general.
In line with the objective of deepening political and economic relations, various official trips and visits have been made in recent years, such as the State visits of the Chinese President in 2018 and Their Majesties the King and Queen to China in 2025, the first bilateral visits by a Spanish Prime Minister to Korea and Vietnam, and the first visit by a Spanish President to India in 17 years. Foreign ministers and ministers from other areas have travelled to China, Korea, the Philippines, India, Japan and Pakistan. Action plans and common objectives have also been adopted with strategic partners such as China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia, New Zealand and Vietnam.
On 2 December, Albares presented the main lines of the Strategy to the Asian ambassadors, following a round of consultations carried out by the Minister during his visits to countries such as China, India and Pakistan and in bilateral contacts with counterparts in the region.
Today, the Council of Ministers approved a Strategy for Asia-Pacific that develops, for that region, the guidelines set out in a higher-level instrument, the Foreign Action Strategy 2025-2028.
—NON OFFICIAL TRANSLATION—