<h6><strong>The Diplomat</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The University of Salamanca (USAL) has announced that it will join the Board of Trustees of the American and Asia-Pacific Council Foundations, which depend on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.</strong></h4> On November 26, the Governing Council approved the incorporation of the University of Salamanca into the seven of the nine Council Foundations promoted by Foreign Affairs: Spain-United States Council Foundation, Spain-China Council Foundation, Spain-India Council Foundation, Spain-Australia Council Foundation, Spain-Colombia Council Foundation, Spain-Brazil Council Foundation and Spain-Peru Council Foundation. The University of Salamanca has been a member of the Spain-Japan Council Foundation and the Chile Foundation for some time. The Council Foundations are private, non-profit entities integrated into the Council Foundation Network, which is promoted and supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the aim of expanding and deepening bilateral relations with Spain's main partner countries and strategic allies outside the European Union, which makes them a valuable foreign policy tool. These institutions seek to promote mutual understanding between Spain and the corresponding countries, bringing together the efforts deployed by different sectors, promoting the interests projected towards these countries in the scientific, technological, research, cultural and academic fields, and promoting economic, commercial and business cooperation from a civil society platform. The entry of the Salamanca firm into the Asia-Pacific and Ibero-American Foundation Councils represents “a strategic opportunity to consolidate and expand its international influence,” declared the rector, Juan Manuel Corchado, in a press conference. This decision will help “strengthen the institution's capacity in research, innovation, technology transfer, teaching and dissemination of culture, promoting strategic relationships with relevant institutions and positioning the University as a key player in the interaction between Asia, Ibero-America and Spain,” he continued. The entry of the Salamanca firm into the Asia-Pacific and Latin American Foundation Councils, he insisted, represents “a strategic element, not only for what it means in terms of internationalisation, but because it will position us in these countries and, furthermore, also as a prominent interlocutor with the Government of Spain”. The University seeks “not only to collaborate with institutions: also with key companies in Asia, the USA and Latin America, and to build a cultural bridge between these areas of the world and Spain”, he added.
