The King, Montero, Díaz, Albares, Borrell and Ribera to participate this week in the international forum “World in Progress” in Barcelona

Eduardo González From this Monday through Tuesday, the Palacio de Congresos de Catalunya in Barcelona will host "World in Progress," an international forum for reflection and dialogue on major global challenges. Organized by Grupo Prisa and El País in collaboration with Cadena SER, the meeting will bring together political, academic, business, and social leaders to discuss the future of geopolitics, industry and climate change. The meeting will address five key international topics of recent days: the truce agreement between Israel and Gaza; the political situation in France; the democratic future of Venezuela; the decisions of US President Donald Trump, which mark the path for other territories; and Spain's role in this new European and global geostrategic scenario. In addition, other topics will also be addressed, such as energy security, the financial system facing market challenges, the planet's existential challenges, the threat of organized crime, sustainability, the major challenges facing cities, local leadership in times of globalization, sports and geopolitics, and the challenges of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The first edition of the WIP was also held in Barcelona in 2024. Among the event's participants are King Felipe VI, who will speak on Tuesday; and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, who will also give an institutional address on the second day. The opening day, which will take place this Monday, will feature speeches by the Mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni; the President of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Salvador Illa; the First Vice President of the Government and Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, who will address Spain's role in the current national and international context; the Second Vice President of the Government and Minister of Labor and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz; and the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration, Elma Saiz. Also speaking on this first day will be Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for the Clean, Fair, and Competitive Transition of the European Commission, who will speak on "Europe facing yesterday's challenges: from uncertainty to action." Josep Borrell, former High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and former Spanish Foreign Minister, will speak on "Quo vadis Europa?". Borrell will also participate on the second day in a panel on "Ukraine's commitment to Europe," alongside Dmytro Kuleba, former Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine. Participants will also include recent Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado, leader of the democratic forces in Venezuela; former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos; Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA); Former French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe; Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur; former Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben Ami; former Palestinian ambassador Afif Safieh; and Moroccan Director General for International Political Affairs Fouad Yazourh. The list of participants also includes Jon Finer, Deputy National Security Advisor under Joe Biden; former U.S. Ambassador to Spain Julissa Reynoso; Mario Lubetkin, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay; Wolfgang Schmidt, Minister for Special Affairs and Head of the German Chancellery; Matteo Renzi, former Prime Minister of Italy; Óscar Naranjo, former Vice President of Colombia; José Luis Escrivá, Governor of the Bank of Spain; and Jaume Duch, Minister of the European Union and Foreign Affairs of the Catalan Government, among others.

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