<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, has taken advantage of his Christmas message to “the almost three million Spaniards who reside abroad” and to the “more than 5,500 professionals of the Foreign Service” to boast about the management of his Ministry in 2024, which has allowed “Spain to have today the greatest international and European weight in its history”.</strong></h4> “2024 has been an intense year in which Spanish foreign policy, coherent and with its own identity, has continued to work for peace and for compliance with International Law in all scenarios, in Ukraine and in the Middle East”, said the minister in a video to which <em>The Diplomat</em> has had access. “We have taken steps towards the two-state solution by recognizing last May the State of Palestine that can coexist in peace and security alongside the State of Israel and we have continued to firmly support Ukraine”, he continued. “We continue to contribute to the European project and strengthen our relations with Latin America and the Caribbean and, in 2026, we will hold the Ibero-American Summit in Spain, of which we are currently the pro tempore Secretariat,” continued Albares. The minister also recalled the recent approval of the new Strategy for Africa, “giving a new boost to our foreign policy towards the African continent,” and the steps taken in the reform of the Cooperation system, “initiated with the approval of the new Law almost two years ago,” with the approval of the “Statute of the Cooperator, the Master Plan, the Statute of the AECID.” “Our cooperation is present in Ukraine, in Gaza, in Lebanon, where it is most needed. Also to help those affected by the DANA,” said Albares, who also reiterated his “commitment to multilateralism, to the United Nations system, to its Secretary General, to its agencies, such as UNRWA, to its peace missions, such as UNIFIL.” On the other hand, the minister mentioned the protection of Spanish citizens abroad “from our embassies and consulates”, exemplified by “evacuation operations from Lebanon and Syria” and assistance to “thousands of Spaniards abroad throughout this year”. José Manuel Albares said he was “very proud” of the “extraordinary team at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs”, which works “every day for a new coherent foreign policy with its own identity, which allows Spain to have the greatest international and European weight in its history”. “You project beyond our borders what Spain is: an open, tolerant, free, supportive country, a country that grows more than three times as fast as the average of the European Union and that reaffirms its weight in the world every day”, he concluded.
