<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>King Felipe VI received the President of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, at La Zarzuela Palace this Monday, coinciding with the historic power outage that affected the entire Iberian Peninsula throughout the day.</strong></h4> Noboa made a working visit to Spain as part of a tour of Europe and the Middle East, which began in Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis. Present at the meeting were the Secretary of State for Ibero-America and the Caribbean and Spanish in the World, María Susana Sumelzo, on the Spanish side, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility of the Republic of Ecuador, Gabriela Sommerfeld Rosero, and the Ecuadorian Ambassador to Spain, Wilma Andrade Muñoz, on the Ecuadorian side. "A meeting of great importance to strengthen the bilateral relations of the nations," the Ecuadorian Presidency wrote on social media. "This is part of an official tour of Europe and the Middle East focused on attracting investment and boosting the economy," he added. According to the Ecuadorian Presidency, Noboa reiterated to the King his commitment to strengthening bilateral relations with Spain on migration and investment, among other issues related to the two nations. Likewise, both heads of state discussed the strengthening of the injection of Spanish investment into Ecuador and agreed on the importance of organizing a visit of Spanish investors to the country in the near future. Furthermore, the Presidency continued, "the King emphasized the importance of Ecuador having a new four-year period of stability, as it encourages the development of an investment agenda in sectors such as energy generation and transmission, health, tourism, among others." Regarding bilateral coordination, King Felipe reiterated his invitation to President Noboa to participate in the IV International Conference on Financing for Development, to be held in Seville from July 1 to 3. For Noboa, according to the Presidency, the visit to King Felipe was an important opportunity to reiterate his interest in continuing to work together to promote migrant rights. "Spain expressed its recognition of the Ecuadorian community as a hardworking community that integrates very well in the European country," it added. The president-elect of Ecuador began a tour of Europe and the Middle East in Spain before taking office on May 24. According to the Ecuadorian press, the meeting between Noboa and Felipe this Monday was the fourth between the two heads of state since the Ecuadorian president came to power in 2023. They previously met in Spain in November 2023, during Noboa's first official trip abroad as the country's president-elect. In January 2024, Noboa met with the King in Madrid at the International Tourism Fair (Fitur), and the King and the Ecuadorian president met again in November 2024 on the occasion of the Ibero-American Summit, held in Cuenca, Ecuador. The visit began on Sunday with a meeting with Ecuadorian migrants and entrepreneurs in Madrid. Noboa's visit coincided with the massive blackout that affected the entire Iberian Peninsula throughout Monday.
