The King adresses the Congress during his Proclamation. /Photo: J. Fdez.-Largo/La Razón.
Eva Cantón. Madrid
Next September, the General Assembly of the United Nations will be the place for the new King, Philip VI, to pronounce his first big speech on a nationwide basis setting out the lines of the Spanish foreign policy. He will also ask for the vote of its 193 members to Spain’s candidacy to hold a position in the UN Security Council during the two-year period of 2015-2016.
Before that, he will start his international agenda with a trip to the Vatican in July and to Spain’s neighbouring countries: On July 7 he will travel to Portugal, the country that was his grandfather’s place of residence during the Franco dictatorship. On 14 July to Morocco, as there exist close ties between the Spanish and Moroccan monarchies. At the end of August he will travel to France to meet with President François Hollande.
The Kings have also received an invitation from King Philip, of Belgium to attend on 4 August, in Lièje the acts commemorating the centenary of the First World War.
At the end of the year the appointment will be in Veracruz, Mexico, where on 8 and 9 December the XXIV Ibero-American Congress will be taking place, the attendants at which the King knows well because as Prince of Asturias, he attended the swearing in of all the Latin American presidents.
The new monarch knows the international reality well and, as Prince of Asturias, he was present every time a Latin American president took office. Therefore, the Government is confident of the key role he will play in Spain’s international projection, just like his father Juan Carlos did before him, because, in words of the head of the Spanish diplomacy, “they are in the Crown’s DNA”.
The Vatican, Morocco, France and Portugal, first international trips for the monarch
The globalization challenges, the Arab world, the Latin American reality and Europe were some of the details that Philip VI revealed in the proclamation speech pronounced in the Courts when referring to Spain’s position in the world. In the case of the European Union, he emphasized the importance of the European policy as a factor of internal integration and Margallo seemed to be convinced of the fact that the new King and Queen will travel to all the European capitals.
He also assured that Queen Letizia will follow Sofía’s steps in her dedication to humanitarian policies, as well as to international cooperation and to help to those in need, a presence abroad that the minister would be thankful for, he said, to make up for the lack of means in his Department.
