The Diplomat
King Philip VI highlighted the “important institutional changes” that Andorra has undergone in recent years, which have turned it into “a fully democratic State of Law”, and recalled the role played by the Principality during the Civil War, when it was “a land of welcome for Spaniards”.
The Monarch pronounced these words during the official dinner offered in honor of the King and Queen by the co-princes of Andorra, which took place on Thursday night at the Andorra Park Hotel, at the end of the first day of the historic state visit of Philip VI and Letizia to the Principality. It is the first of this rank by a Spanish head of state in the history of Andorra.
“In recent years the Principality of Andorra has experienced important institutional changes”, said Philip VI after the toast of the co-prince of Andorra and Archbishop of Urgell, Monsignor Joan Enric Vives. “After the approval of its Constitution in 1993 and the signing of the Treaty of Good Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation between Andorra, France and Spain, it joined the United Nations and other global institutions”, he continued. “Recently, in 2018, we commemorated the 25th anniversary of the beginning of diplomatic relations between our two countries”, he added.
“Today Andorra is a parliamentary Principality and, like Spain, a fully democratic State under the rule of law”, but also “at other times in our history, Andorra was a land of welcome for Spaniards; and I am referring particularly to tragic episodes, such as our Civil War”, the King said. “At that time, this country was a refuge and sometimes a land of definitive adoption for citizens of the two contending sides in that war. On behalf of all of them and on behalf of Spain, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Andorran people”, he added.
“Andorra is also immersed in an important task of diversifying its economy”, he continued. “Many Spanish companies and many Spanish workers are accompanying you in this work. I am sure that their enterprising and hard-working spirit will help you overcome the obstacles and achieve the goals set”, concluded the King, whose words are reported by the Royal Household.
Yesterday began with a visit by the King and Queen to the María Moliner Spanish School -one of the six Spanish public schools in the Principality-, accompanied by the Andorran Ministers of Foreign Affairs and of Education and Higher Education. Afterwards, the King and Queen held a meeting with the Spanish educational community in Andorra in the sports center of the Maria Moliner School and, after a series of visits of cultural and patrimonial interest, they had an official lunch offered in their honor by the Prime Minister of the Principality, Xavier Espot, attended by the Andorran Syndic General (President of the Parliament), Roser Suñé, and the representatives of the Episcopal and French Co-Princes.
