Luis Ayllón
The 6th Conference of Ambassadors that was to begin today at Casa América has been postponed due to the consequences of the snowstorm in Madrid and the existing difficulties for mobility, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed The Diplomat.
On Saturday night, the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, Celsa Nuño, informed the 130 ambassadors called to the meeting of the postponement by e-mail. The e-mail added that a new date was being sought and that this would be done as soon as possible.
On Saturday afternoon, it was already known that His Majesty the King had cancelled his agenda for today, Monday, as well as for tomorrow, Tuesday, when the Conference was scheduled to close.
The Government’s intention is to recover an initiative that began in 2001 and ceased to be held in 2008, mainly due to the economic crisis.
Around fifty ambassadors had announced their participation in person, taking advantage of their stay in Spain for holidays, as established by the Ministry. The rest had planned to participate by videoconference, because the department directed by Arancha González Laya does not pay for the travel expenses.
The postponement may lead to a significant reduction in the number of ambassadors present at Casa América, as they will be ending their holiday period in the next few days and will have to return to their posts abroad.
The conference was to be opened today by the president of the government, Pedro Sánchez, followed by minister González Laya, who would address the ambassadors on the strategic lines of foreign policy.
The third and fourth vice-presidents of the government and the ministers of the interior and of industry, trade and tourism were scheduled to speak over the two days.
The ambassadors would also be addressed by the four secretaries of state of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the undersecretary; the director general of foreign and security policy; and the directors general of the different geographical areas.
