<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong><span class="jCAhz ChMk0b"><span class="ryNqvb">The Governing Council of Casa Asia has appointed this Wednesday the diplomat José Pintor Aguilar, at the proposal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to the position of director general of this institution of Spanish public diplomacy, according to official sources from the Department headed by José Manuel Albares who informed <em>The Diplomat</em>.</span></span> <span class="jCAhz ChMk0b"><span class="ryNqvb">He will replace the diplomat Javier Parrondo.</span></span></strong></h4> Born in Barcelona in 1976, a graduate in Law and member of the Diplomatic Service since 2004, he has held the positions within the Ministry of Head of Service in the technical office of the Undersecretary (2004), Head of the South American Service in the Subdirectorate General of Mercosur Countries and Chile (2005) and Head of the Media Relations Area (2005). Abroad, he has been secretary at the Spanish Embassy in Malabo (2006), Consul General of Spain in Agadir (2008), secretary of the Spanish Embassy in Managua (2011), advisor at the Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean in Barcelona (2014), deputy consul at the Spanish Consulate in Mexico (2016) and, from 2020 to date, deputy consul in Paris. He has been awarded the Cross of the Order of Isabel la Católica (2008), the Officer's Cross of the Order of Civil Merit (2014) and the Officer's Cross of the Order of Isabel la Católica (2019). Casa Asia was created in 2001 as a public diplomacy body. The consortium is made up of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Generalitat of Catalonia and the city councils of Barcelona and Madrid. It is based in the Catalan capital and also has a centre in Madrid. Its current headquarters are in the former Chapel of the House of Orphans (Capella dels Infants Orfes), a building in the Raval district ceded by the Barcelona City Council, but the institution's objective is to move to the Pedralbes Palace in the near future, when the renovation works on this building are completed. The headquarters in Madrid are located in the Cañete Palace, on Calle Mayor. Casa Asia advises on the implementation of positioning strategies in Asia, participates in EU programmes for Asia and disseminates the diversity of the culture of this continent through exhibitions, book presentations, festivals and film series. Casa Asia also teaches in Asian languages and disciplines aimed at the school and youth population. The entity also addresses current events in Asia, develops activities in common with Asian communities resident in Spain, collaborates in initiatives that promote interculturality and the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda and participates in bilateral forums with Asian countries.
