The Diplomat
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, has appointed the first heads of Spain’s newly created diplomatic antennae in Montenegro and Armenia.
According to the resolution of the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs awarding a total of 114 posts abroad, Manuel Durán Jiménez-Rico, a veteran diplomat, who is currently ambassador to Pakistan, will be the Chargé d’Affaires ad interim in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro.
Cristina Conesa Sancho, who was previously posted to the Directorate General for Consular Affairs, will take up the same post in the Armenian capital, Yerevan.
Both posts will become operational in August, and with them, Spain aims to have a greater presence in these countries, since both Montenegro and Armenia have open embassies in Madrid. Until now, Montenegro’s affairs have been handled by the Spanish embassy in Belgrade, with an honorary consulate in Podgorica. Those of Armenia are handled from the Embassy in Moscow, with an Honorary Consulate in Yerevan.
In the same resolution on posts abroad, the heads of Spain’s diplomatic antennae in Iceland, Georgia and Chad have also been appointed.
Specifically, the Chargé d’Affaires in Reykjavik will be José Carlos Esteso, who will take up his post immediately. Marcos Granados has been appointed to Tbilisi and Jaime Francisco Juárez to N’Djamena.
