“This is an opportune moment for Algeria, as we are immersed in a democratisation and development process without precedent”, commented the Algerian ambassador to Spain, Mohammed Haneche (in the photograph, with his wife, he is greeting the Vatican Nuncio in Spain, Renzo Fratini), during the reception offered on Tuesday at the Intercontinental Hotel in Madrid for their National Day, which commemorated the start of the independence war with France, on 1 November, 1952
The North African diplomat also underscored that “in 2013, Spain has become Algeria’s principal commercial partner” and expressed his wish that “in a near future we can make important strides forward”. Following on from this, he congratulated the Spanish Government for their election to a seat on the UN’s Security Council for the next two years, underlining that it has been “a great success”.
The reception was attended by a number of embassy representatives posted in Spain; among them from the Libyan, Sudanese, Kuwaiti, Swiss, Serbian, Iraqi, Palestinian, Ukrainian, Maltese and North Korean embassies.
On behalf of the Spanish Administration, those present included the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Gonzalo de Benito; the Director General for Foreign Policy and Multilateral Affairs, Ignacio Ybáñez; the Director General for Africa, the Mediterranean and the Middle East, Manuel Gómez-Acebo; the deputy director general for the Maghreb, Eva Martínez; ambassador-at-large for the Mediterranean, Gabriel Busquets; the ambassador-at-large for the Sahel and Special Envoy for Libya, Ángel Losada; the Director General for Casa Árabe, Eduardo López Busquets and the Director General for Casa del Mediterráneo, Almudena Muñoz.
Also present were Ambassador George Massad; Oman’s honorary cónsul, Ana María de Lara; Francisca Mérida; Víctor Brocate; Francisco Armas and Mayca Campos.
Text and photographs: A. Rubio.
The North Korean ambassador, Kim Hyok Chol, and the minister councillor for the Sudanese embassy, Tariq Abusalih.
Prince Jorge Cabrera Rurikovich and Duke Alexey Kubarev.
Serbian ambassador, Danko Prokic, and The Diplomat editor, Luis Ayllón.
Mayca Campos, from the department of protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Francisco Armas, from estate agency Eslacasa.
Esquivias Mayor, Elena Fernández de Velasco (left), and the secretary of this town hall, Susana García, with the minister councillor for the Rumanian embassy, Ilie Banica.
The ambassadors of Jordan, Ghassam Abdel Rahim Odeh Majali, and Iraq, Wadee Al-Batti, with a Lebanese resident in Spain.
Palestinian ambassador, Musa Amer Odeh, flanked by Hristea Georgiana, from the NGO Peace and Cooperation, and the director of Caude school, Pilar Barroso.
The director of Casa Mediterráneo, Almudena Muñoz, with the director of Atalayar magazine, Javier Fernández Arribas, and the director of Casa Árabe, Eduardo López Busquets.
