Eduardo González
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, received yesterday in Madrid his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Abdullah bin Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, with whom he discussed the state of bilateral relations, the "mutually beneficial" trade relations, the peace in the Middle East and the situation in the Gaza Strip.
“I have received back in Madrid my counterpart from Saudi Arabia and good friend, Faisal Bin Farhan Al Saud,” Albares declared through his account on the social network X. “We are building a strategic relationship with Saudi Arabia based on peace in Middle East, mutually beneficial trade relations and the defense of International Law,” he added. Both ministers shared a lunch at the ministerial headquarters of the Viana Palace.
For its part, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported, on its website, that during the meeting they discussed “bilateral relations and ways to improve them in various fields,” and regional and international events were addressed, “especially in the Gaza Strip and the efforts made” in favor of peace.
The Saudi minister traveled yesterday to Spain to participate in the annual meeting of the European Council on Foreign Relations (EFCR), held at the Casa de América headquarters in Madrid and in which the latest regional and international events were examined, especially in the Strip. from Gaza. Albares participated in the panel titled 'Wars and shadow wars: What are Europe's options in the Middle East?'.
Albares received his Saudi counterpart in Madrid on May 29, just one day after Spain, Norway and Ireland formally recognized the State of Palestine. Prince Faisal Bin Farhan was in Spain as part of a visit of the Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee on Gaza, or Contact Group on Gaza, created in November in Riyadh, during the joint summit of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), with the objective of achieving a ceasefire, the sending of humanitarian aid and the establishment of an action plan for the materialization of the two-state solution.
On that occasion, the members of the Contact Group - the Prime Ministers of the Palestinian Authority, Mohamed Mustafa, and of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Bin Jassim Al-Thani, the Foreign Ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Turkey and the Secretary General of the OIC - were also received by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez.
In addition, the Foreign Minister was received by his Saudi counterpart on February 7 in Riyadh, during a tour of the Persian Gulf. At that meeting, the two ministers talked about “the terrible humanitarian situation in Gaza and the importance of joining forces to take a definitive step in the two-state solution” and Albares gave Faisal Bin Farhan a written message from King Felipe VI addressed to the Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, on “the distinguished relations between the two friendly countries and ways to improve coordination and consultation in various fields.”
Last Tuesday, July 2, the Investment Minister of Saudi Arabia, Khalid Al-Falih, visited Spain, where he met with the Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo, to address the different investment opportunities between both countries, and participated in a Spanish-Saudi business meeting, organized by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, the Secretary of State for Commerce through ICEX and the CEOE, in which he assured that companies in his country see Spain “as a gateway to Europe and Latin America".
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