<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, opened this Tuesday the second and last day of the IX Conference of Ambassadors, in which he defended the reform of multilateral institutions, urged to “take advantage of the protectionist turn of many large economies” to “increase our weight in global trade”, supported the reinforcement of the European “security and defence industry” and warned against any militaristic drift that “leads us to a new arms race”.</strong></h4> “Spain will always be on the side of the defence of our principles and values. Principles and values present in the Spanish Constitution, principles and values that, even if the wind blows against us, we will not give up on,” proclaimed the President of the Government before the 130 Spanish ambassadors gathered since Monday at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Plaza del Marqués de Salamanca, in Madrid. Pedro Sánchez began his speech by reviewing the symptoms of the “wear and tear and erosion of the established international order”, such as the extension of armed conflicts and warlike rhetoric, the growing use of force and the rise of impunity while crimes are committed “before the eyes of an anaesthetized international community”. “This is the world we live in: a more insecure, closed and anarchic world, and with democracy besieged by hybrid attacks and disinformation; a world in which there are two positions: either to let ourselves be carried away by inertia or to actively and courageously defend the values in which we believe”, he continued. “Spain is not closing itself off, as more and more countries are doing. Spain is opening up to the world, and it does so with determination, with conviction, with ambition, with vocation, with a firm will to lead,” he said. In this context, he said, Spain represents “a voice of coherence” because “we say the same thing everywhere in terms of human rights, climate justice or denouncing non-compliance with international law.” <h5><strong>Four priority axes</strong></h5> According to Pedro Sánchez, Spanish foreign action is governed by “four priority axes”: the commitment to the European Union, the commitment to an open economy, the strengthening of bilateral relations with key regions and countries and support for multilateralism and its necessary reforms. Regarding the first point, the head of the Executive warned that Europe must strengthen its capacity to compete in an increasingly complex world, at the same time as it must increase its strategic autonomy, promote its internal market in key sectors and resolve the chronic lack of financing for companies. Strengthening Europe's capacity in the world, he continued, involves supporting the enlargement process and revitalizing alliances with other regions. Likewise, he warned, Europe must face the challenge of its security in a world of growing threats, strengthening the security and defense industry. “Europe has to wake up once and for all. In a world like this, it is not enough to adapt to geopolitical reality. Europe must be able to strengthen itself in order to influence it and defend its interests and values,” added Sánchez. In any case, the head of the Executive assured that Spain believes in peace and diplomacy and, therefore, his Government will never share or encourage a militaristic drift that “leads us to a new arms race.” Regarding the second point, Pedro Sánchez defended “the need to open ourselves even more to international trade; but demanding reciprocity and a level playing field that guarantees criteria of justice, equity and sustainability.” “We must take advantage of the protectionist turn of many large economies to build new bridges, and increase our weight in global trade,” stressed the President of the Government. On the other hand, and with regard to the third point, Sánchez assured that Spain wants to continue deepening and strengthening the strategic relationship with the United States and the transatlantic link. He also referred to the decisive weight of the relationship that Spain and the European Union maintain with Latin America and assured that “the relationship with the Maghreb, the Sahel and the Mediterranean basin are essential pillars of our foreign action.” Sánchez also highlighted the Africa Strategy to strengthen the relationship with the countries of this continent and the growing economic and geopolitical weight of Asia. In this sense, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, did the day before, he announced the publication of a specific Strategy for the Asian continent and highlighted Spain's interest in developing links with powers such as China and India. Finally, Pedro Sánchez warned of the need to have strong and efficient multilateral institutions to face global challenges such as climate change or digital transformation and assured. Therefore, faced with the increase in “distrust in the multilateral system”, he affirmed that defending multilateralism requires “commitment to the reform of institutions that run the risk of becoming obsolete, and the duty to make them more inclusive, transparent and effective.”
