The Diplomat
The Congress has asked the Government that both the objectives and guidelines as well as the results of the Ibero-American Summits be debated in the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Lower House in order to take into account “the appropriate contributions of the different parliamentary groups”.
The Foreign Affairs Committee approved last December 19 a Proposition not of Law relative to the promotion of the Ibero-American Summits, presented by the Socialist Parliamentary Group, in which the Government is urged to continue promoting the celebration of the Ibero-American Summits “as an indispensable instrument of dialogue and agreement as well as of cooperation and solidarity, not only at the Ibero-American level, but also as a common representation on the world stage”, to consolidate the Ibero-American space “as an area of cooperation and dialogue” and to strengthen the competitiveness of the region, “within the new global scenario”, in the political, social, economic and environmental fields.
The motion also asks the Government to promote “common principles and values for the settlement, consolidation and advancement of democracies” and that the agendas be marked by “respect for the social and democratic rule of law, human rights, legal security, institutionality and freedoms”. At this point, the Popular Group tried to expressly mention Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, but the idea did not go forward.
On the other hand, the PP did manage to include in the text two new points, in which the Government is urged to “debate, before the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Congress, the objectives and guidelines to be followed, prior to the celebration, in the Ibero-American Summits, taking into account the appropriate contributions of the different parliamentary groups”, and to “inform in the Congress about the Ibero-American Summits, once these have been carried out, so that a balance is made about the objectives reached in this non-law proposal”.
On March 24 and 25, the XXVIII Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government will be held in Santo Domingo, under the slogan Together for a fair and sustainable Ibero-America. The first Ibero-American Summit took place in 1991 in Guadalajara (Mexico). The organization of the Summits (annual until 2014 and biennial since then) is the responsibility of the Ibero-American Conference, formed by the 22 Ibero-American countries (19 Latin American countries of Spanish and Portuguese languages, plus Andorra), and by the Pro Tempore Secretariat (constituted by the host country, in this case the Dominican Republic), under the auspices of the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB).
