<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong></strong><strong>Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares proposed this Wednesday to his colleagues at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that Spain host the annual meeting of the organization's Regional Program for Latin America and the Caribbean in 2026.</strong></h4> Albares made this offer during his speech at the "Global Relations & Enlargement" session of the OECD Council Ministerial Meeting, held at the organization's headquarters in Paris. During this session, he stated that holding the Regional Program Ministerial Meeting in Spain in 2026, coinciding with Spain's role as pro tempore Secretariat of the Ibero-American Summit, would promote a new era in OECD-Latin America cooperation. According to a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Albares' proposal "is part of the tenth anniversary of the Regional Program for Latin America and the Caribbean and at a key moment in which Argentina, Brazil, and Peru are in the process of joining the OECD." The accession of these three countries, it continued, "will substantially strengthen the Latin American dimension of the organization, as they will now represent 76 percent of the population and 80 percent of the region's GDP." Separately, the minister welcomed the adoption of the OECD Strategic Framework for Latin America and the Caribbean, "an initiative promoted and negotiated by Spain, which reinforces the organization's commitment to the region and opens a new stage of structured and strategic collaboration within the OECD," according to the Ministry. “In a context in which OECD member countries represent around 35% of global GDP—compared to 75% at the time of its founding—accession processes and global relations are not just strategic instruments: they are essential for the legitimacy, geographic balance, and transformative capacity of the Organization,” Albares stated in his speech. According to the Foreign Minister, strengthening relations with Latin America and the Caribbean is vital to ensuring the OECD's representativeness and global vision. “Latin America faces challenges that are central to the OECD's agenda and represents an opportunity to advance shared priorities of sustainable development and inclusion,” he added. The session, which was opened by Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, the President of the Council's Ministerial Meeting, Costa Rican Arnoldo André Tinoco, and OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann (with whom Albares later held a bilateral meeting), focused on the OECD's global role, its strategic relationships, and the challenges facing sustainable and inclusive development. During his remarks, Albares also addressed the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, which will be held in a few weeks in Seville; the OECD's support for Ukraine in its reconstruction, recovery, and reform efforts in the face of Russian aggression; and the situation in Gaza. "We must continue promoting peace, as the defense of international law admits no exceptions," he warned. Albares' participation in this ministerial meeting took place one day after the Council of Ministers authorized a voluntary contribution of €675,000 to the OECD in 2025 to promote Spain's participation in the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) (€362,500) and the OECD Development Centre (DEV) (€312,500). Albares was accompanied at the ministerial meeting by the State Secretary for Ibero-America and the Caribbean and Spanish in the World, Susana Sumelzo; the State Secretary for Trade, Amparo López Senovilla; the Permanent Representative of Spain to the OECD, Ximo Puig; and the Director General of Data at the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Service, Ruth del Campo.
