Foreign Ministry launches “Multilateral Policy Strategy” to “confront attacks on international law”

Eduardo González Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares presented the Multilateral Policy Strategy for Sustainable Development to the Council of Ministers on Tuesday, describing it as “an integrated response from the Spanish Government to the current context of attacks on international law, the multilateral system, and development cooperation.” “At a time when violations of international law are frequent and unilateralism and war are becoming a method for achieving foreign policy objectives, it is essential to defend the multilateral order,” Albares stated at the press conference following the Council of Ministers meeting. “Faced with the law of the strongest, Spain offers an alternative path,” he continued. “Faced with arbitrariness, we are committed to multilateralism as a method for development, for addressing global challenges, and for peacefully resolving conflicts, and that is why we are presenting the Multilateral Policy Strategy for Sustainable Development today,” he announced. According to the minister, “this initiative offers an integrated response from the Spanish government to the current context of attacks on international law, the multilateral system, and development cooperation.” “The overall objective of this strategy is for Spanish cooperation to contribute to achieving an international order that guarantees democracy, human rights, equality, inclusion—in short, everything that constitutes the pillars and foundation of peace,” he explained. In this context, as the Ministry indicated in a press release, “the Strategy aims to strengthen Spain’s position as a member state particularly committed to multilateralism and global solidarity” and articulates a strategic response to the crisis of multilateralism. To this end, Albares explained at the press conference, the strategy is structured around three main pillars: “the fight against poverty and inequality, climate action and the protection of the planet, and food security, health, and decent work.” “Likewise, the strategy sets out three systematic objectives: to promote inclusive and transparent global governance, to boost the effectiveness and coordination of the multilateral system so that we can move towards achieving the 2030 Agenda, and to strengthen coordination among Spanish cooperation actors to increase their impact on multilateral cooperation for sustainable development.” “Ultimately, this strategy represents a further step in Spain’s foreign policy to implement the plan to support multilateralism and development financing that we adopted last year, and this is especially necessary in the current context of escalating conflict in the Middle East and given the consequences it is having on the economy and on citizens,” he concluded.

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