The Diplomat
The Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense, José Manuel Albares and Margarita Robles, participated yesterday in the act of decoration of the 23 employees of the Spanish Embassy in Kabul whose participation in the evacuation work allowed to save more than 2,000 Afghans after the military victory of the Taliban.
“You represent the dedication and generosity of our country”, said Albares during the ceremony, held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the Palacio de Viana in Madrid, which began with a tribute to National Police sub-inspector Jorge García Tudela and police officer Gabino Sanmartín, who died in the attack against the Spanish Embassy in 2015, as well as to all the Spaniards who lost their lives during the twenty years of Spanish presence in the country, who, together with the staff of the Spanish legation, “have dedicated all their efforts to build a better Afghanistan,” said the minister.
According to José Manuel Albares, from the very moment “this ceased to be possible”, the Foreign Service employees devoted themselves with “conviction and determination” to the task of “bringing as many people as possible to safety and offering them the chance of a future when their world was collapsing around them”. Albares also described as “exemplary” the close coordination with the Ministry of the Interior, the Police and the Ministry of Defense and highlighted the efforts of the entire Foreign Service, which embodies “the best qualities of our country: solidarity, generosity and commitment.”
“We have not forgotten all those who have remained in Afghanistan,” the minister assured. For this reason, he assured, Spain continues to work at all levels, with partner countries and with Afghanistan’s neighboring countries, to bring back those who have remained in Afghanistan and to ensure that the new regime cannot destroy the progress achieved. “Our mission is not over,” he said.
On behalf of all those decorated, the former Spanish Ambassador to Afghanistan, Gabriel Ferrán -who received the Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit- highlighted the importance of the Foreign Service in the Public Administration and paid tribute to all the Embassy staff, highlighting the motivation of each of its members.
Apart from the Ambassador, the following were also decorated: Paula Sánchez (second Head of the Embassy), Juan Duarte Cuadrado, Koussay Boulaich Ahmed, Antonio Guillén Hidalgo, Ahmad Baloch, Said Ahmad Wahdat Ahmadzada and Sayed Saber Sayeed, with the Commendation of Number of the Order of Civil Merit; Isabel García Fernández-Llamares, with the Commendation of the Order Isabel la Católica; Susana Madarnás Piñeiro, with the Cross of Officer of the Order of Isabel la Católica; Manuel González Garagorri, Jaime Moreno Bau and Francisco Javier Muñoz Treceño, with the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Civil Merit; and Guillermo Samuel Begué Moratalla, Pablo Benítez Jiménez-Ugarte, Javier Carracedo Vicente, Cristina Conesa Sancho, Miguel Ángel de Diego Martín; Fernando Magallanes Mato, Teresa Hergueta Cholmeley, Eva María Jerez Vento, Carolina del Río Vílchez and Víctor Javier Torcal Sánchez, with the Cross of the Order of Civil Merit.
