The Diplomat
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, attended yesterday at the Palacio de Viana, in Madrid, the farewell lunch to the Ibero-American Secretary General of SEGIB, Rebeca Grynspan, whom he thanked for “these seven years of intense work”, in which she has promoted “political, economic and cultural cooperation in Ibero-America”.
Grynspan will end tomorrow, Friday, her tenure as Ibero-American secretary general, which began in April 2014, to head the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). On that occasion, throughout this week she has experienced a series of farewell events, which began on Monday at La Moncloa Palace, with a meeting with the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and continued on Tuesday at the Zarzuela Palace, where she was received by the King.
“Today, farewell in honor of Rebeca Grynspan as Ibero-American secretary general”, Albares declared yesterday via her Twitter account. “Thank you Rebeca for these seven years of intense work at the head of SEGIB, driving political, economic and cultural cooperation in Ibero-America”, he added. The lunch was attended by the Ibero-American ambassadors accredited in Madrid and the secretary general of the OEI, Mariano Jabonero, among other personalities.
The departure of the Costa Rican will accelerate the announcements of possible candidates to occupy a post that is elected by consensus of all the member countries of the Ibero-American Conference and which is not usually an easy task, given the differences existing in the region. For the moment, some names have already emerged, such as the former Mexican Minister and former Secretary General of the OECD, José Ángel Gurría; the former Argentine Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra; or the former Colombian Foreign Minister María Ángela Holguín, who a few weeks ago was said to have the support of Spain, but not of the government of Iván Duque.
It is normal for candidates to have the support of their country’s governments, but in the case of the aforementioned candidates this does not seem to be the case at the moment. Spain, which has the seat of the Ibero-American General Secretariat, is not presenting candidates, but it can show its preferences, although it has not yet made a public statement. The deadline for the presentation of candidatures will open on the 15th.
