The Diplomat
Apart from the long-awaited meeting with the President of the United States, Joe Biden, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has held several bilateral meetings with some of his counterparts attending the NATO Summit in Madrid, specifically with those of New Zealand, Australia, Iceland, Japan and Sweden.
On Tuesday, the President of the Government received the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, with whom he discussed the recent signing of a memorandum of understanding for the protection of seabirds, among other issues, and the Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese, in what was the first visit of a Chief Executive of this country to Spain. Sánchez highlighted the contribution of Spanish companies to the renewable energy and infrastructure sectors in Australia, as well as the substantial increase in the presence of Australian investment funds in Spain in recent years.
The President of the Government also met on Tuesday with the Prime Minister of Iceland, Katrín Jakobsdóttir, to whom he underlined his willingness to establish a multilateral agenda to work together on issues such as climate change, equality and individual rights and freedoms.
Yesterday, Pedro Sánchez held a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, before whom he pointed out Spain’s interest in revitalizing the current strategic partnership with Japan, at all levels and in all areas, which dates back to 2018. He also highlighted the contribution of Spanish companies to meet Japan’s decarbonization goals and conveyed his desire to count on the investment of Japanese companies in priority sectors for the Spanish Recovery Fund, such as green transition and the digital economy.
Likewise, the head of the Executive received the Swedish Prime Minister, Magdalena Andersson, to whom he reiterated Spain’s support for Sweden’s entry into NATO, “a consolidated democracy whose accession to the Atlantic Alliance will contribute to strengthening the deterrence and defense capacity of the northern and eastern flanks”. Sánchez also expressed to the Swedish Prime Minister his admiration for the political change that Sweden has so quickly assimilated to adopt the decision to join NATO, in response to the new security context in Europe. Today, the President of the Government is scheduled to meet with the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, at La Moncloa Palace.
For his part, King Philip VI has also received at La Zarzuela Palace several heads of state who have arrived in Madrid to participate in the Summit, including President Biden himself, with whom he met on Tuesday. Yesterday, the King received the President of South Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol -who is in Madrid as a guest-, the President of Finland, Sauli Väinämö Niinistö -whose country has presented its candidacy to join NATO-, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula Von Der Leyen, who will meet with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel; the President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nauséda; and the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer.
