Eduardo González The Government has awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit to the last ambassadors of Qatar and Romania in Spain, Abdalla Al-Hamar and George Bologan respectively, and to several former Secretaries of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Royal Decrees granting these distinctions were approved this past Tuesday by the Council of Ministers at the proposal of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, and signed the same day by King Felipe VI, as reported this past Wednesday by the Official State Gazette (BOE). Abdalla Al-Hamar was Qatar's ambassador for more than four years. He took up the post in December 2019 and, from very early on, was forced to face the challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, in which he was involved through a contribution of 100,000 euros for the purchase of medical supplies donated to hospitals, nursing homes and shelters in the Community of Madrid. During his tenure, Abdalla Al-Hamar managed to raise the level of relations between Qatar and Spain, as confirmed by the official visit of Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the first in eleven years and in which the Emir announced the investment of 5 billion euros in Spain for long-term bilateral projects. The 2022 World Cup was a challenge for the ambassador, whose aim was to change the perception of Qatar in Spain. He also deployed notable active diplomacy to eliminate Qatar's image as a financier of terrorism and help its recognition as a mediator in international conflicts, such as the current one in the Gaza Strip. His last act as ambassador took place at the end of May, when he accompanied the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi, at the meeting with the ministers of the Arab Contact Group on Gaza, organised by Spain in Madrid on the occasion of the recognition of the Palestinian State by the governments of Spain, Ireland and Norway. For his part, George Bologan was Romania's ambassador to Spain between April 2022 and February of this year, when he left the post to take up the position of foreign policy advisor to the Romanian president, Klaus Iohannis. Since the beginning of his stay in Spain, George Bologan has been very active, especially trying to close a dual nationality agreement between the two countries, which is one of Romania's aspirations and from which more than a million Romanians living in Spanish territory will be able to benefit. After France and Portugal, Romania will be the third European country with which a dual nationality agreement is signed. In addition, the current Romanian ambassador contributed to the activation of the steps to lift Austria's veto on the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen free movement area during the six-month Spanish Presidency of the European Union, which ended on December 31, which finally became effective on March 31. Furthermore, the Council of Ministers also authorized the granting of the Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit to Mircea Geoana, current Deputy Secretary General of NATO, who in the past was Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania, President of the Senate, ambassador to the United States and candidate for the Presidency of the Republic as leader of the Social Democratic Party. This decoration coincides with the award of the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabel la Católica to the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, who has been in office since 2014 and will be replaced on October 1 by the current Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Also, this week the award of the Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit was authorized to a large number of people, including several former Secretaries of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Luis Marco Aguiriano, Juan Fernández Trigo, Cristina Gallach, Juan González-Barba, Irene Lozano, Ángeles Moreno Bau, Manuel Muñiz and Pascual Navarro, in addition to the former Undersecretary of the Ministry Celsa Nuño.
