Eduardo González The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, summoned the ambassadors of Latin America and the Caribbean accredited in Spain and institutions of the Ibero-American space yesterday in Madrid after Spain was chosen to host the Ibero-American Summit in 2026. During the meeting, held at the ministerial headquarters of the Viana Palace, Albares thanked the support and trust placed in Spain to host the Summit, "which the Government of Spain assumes with enthusiasm to continue working and advancing in this forum of dialogue, agreement policy and cooperation, unique in the world due to its nature and scope,” according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press release. Likewise, the minister stressed that the last Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union placed the region at the center of the European agenda, and an example of this was "the success of the EU-CELAC Summit", held in July of the year passed in Brussels and during which a Roadmap, the Digital Alliance and the Global Gateway Investment Agenda were adopted. The fundamental objective for the Summit, according to Albares, is to begin a new stage of reaffirmation of the system, in which the priority areas of action by the States that comprise it are jointly identified in the context of a agenda marked by topics of common interest. In line with this, the objective of the Summit is to approve the Quadrennial Action Plan for Ibero-American Cooperation 2026-2029. “Ibero-American cooperation is the cornerstone of this system, in which the mandates of the Heads of State and Government are translated into concrete initiatives, with a direct and positive impact on Ibero-American citizens,” Foreign Ministry added. The minister also highlighted Spain's intense relations with the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, which have allowed the development of strong political, economic, social, cultural, linguistic and human ties between them. In this sense, he stated that the Spanish language, shared by a large part of the countries of Ibero-America and the Caribbean, is “a strength as a global language,” which is why he invited the attending ambassadors to coordinate actions in various fields, such as diplomacy. multilateral, the economy, science and technology or the fight against disinformation in Spanish. Last Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that Spain had obtained the support of all the member states of the Ibero-American Community to host the XXX Ibero-American Summit in 2026. To date, Spain has hosted three Ibero-American Summits: Madrid hosted the second, in July 1992, in the middle of the fifth centenary of the Discovery of America; Salamanca celebrated the fifteenth in October 2005 and Cádiz hosted the twenty-second in November 2012, coinciding with the bicentennial of the Constitution of 1812, written in this city. The Ibero-American Summits are part of a political coordination mechanism that integrates the 22 Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries of Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula, including Portugal, Andorra and Spain. In them, the heads of State and Government debate and work on an agenda based on common interests, which are materialized through an Action Program and the Quadrennial Action Plans of Ibero-American Cooperation (PACCI). Linked to these Summits, a calendar of sectoral ministerial meetings, forums and meetings that make up the Ibero-American Conference is developed. For two years, the country that exercises the Pro Tempore Secretariat coordinates, together with the Ibero-American General Secretariat, said calendar of meetings and meetings in which representatives of the countries of the Member States and civil society participate. Spain will assume the Pro Tempore Secretariat for the 2025-2026 biennium when the XXIX Summit concludes, scheduled for November of this year in Cuenca, Ecuador.
