Albares declares the diplomatic crisis over after meeting with Claudia Sheinbaum in Mexico

Eduardo González Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares took advantage of his official visit to Mexico, where he was received by President Claudia Sheinbaum and his counterpart, Roberto Velasco, to declare the end of the diplomatic crisis that erupted a year and a half ago as a result of the Mexican president's decision to exclude King Felipe VI from the guest list for her inauguration because he had not apologized for the Spanish conquest. “It is difficult to find two countries on the planet with such a close and fraternal relationship as Spain and Mexico,” Albares declared at a press conference at the end of the third day of his tour of Latin America and the Caribbean, which included Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico, and after meeting with Sheinbaum and Roberto Velasco Álvarez, who assumed office on April 1. Between the two countries, he continued, “there is a shared heritage of language, culture, science, art, economic ties, and above all, human bonds.” “210,000 Spaniards currently live in Mexico, and there is a growing community of Mexicans residing in Spain, approximately 40,000,” he specified. “This morning, at the Spanish Consulate General in Mexico, I was able to confirm that more than 100,000 Spaniards are joining the ranks of those who already hold Spanish nationality and are making use of the Democratic Memory Law,” added Albares, who met with them. “This is my third visit to Mexico as Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs,” and it has served “to strengthen our excellent bilateral relations with a country that is a brother nation to Spain, with which we share very important common interests, but above all, common values, and in these times that is more important than anything,” he emphasized. Albares especially appreciated the welcome from President Sheinbaum, which was not on the agenda and which he valued as “a strong gesture of friendship toward Spain.” The Mexican president visited Spain on April 18 to participate in the IV Meeting in Defense of Democracy and the Global Progressive Mobilization event in Barcelona. On that occasion, her first visit since the diplomatic crisis, she held a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez. “In Barcelona, President Sheinbaum made it very clear: there is no diplomatic crisis, and today, Foreign Minister Velasco has said that this trip marks a new and important stage in bilateral relations between Spain and Mexico,” Albares declared in Mexico. “I, of course, have seen this from the first minute I stepped off the plane, certainly in the audience with the president, in the meeting with Foreign Minister Velasco. This has been a completely normal trip, where what we have done is look toward the future, toward this important stage in bilateral relations, building upon the fraternal ties that already existed,” he affirmed. Ibero-American Summit Albares was also able to personally deliver to Sheinbaum the invitation from the King to attend the upcoming Ibero-American Summit in Madrid. “I explained to her the main challenges we face, the key objectives, and of course, Mexico is playing a very constructive role in all the preparatory work for the Summit,” explained the minister, who could not say whether the Mexican president would attend the Summit, scheduled for early November in Madrid. “She had just received the invitation, and obviously, we didn't discuss confirmation or non-confirmation at that time,” he clarified. “Any confirmation of her schedule will be made by the Royal Household,” he added. Binational Commission and economic relations Separately, Albares and his “good friend” Roberto Velasco, whom he had already met in Barcelona, signed “the Act of the Spain-Mexico Binational Commission to strengthen the existing strategic partnership and our political and economic ties, and of course, our human bonds.” Albares also participated in a meeting with leading representatives of the Spanish business world at the Spanish Chamber of Commerce. “We are the second largest investor in Mexico. Mexican investment, which is growing in Spain, is already the sixth largest in volume. More than 5,600 Spanish-owned companies are present here in Mexico, creating wealth, jobs, transferring technology, caring for the communities and developing projects wherever they are located, and they clearly have a long-term commitment. I am also pleased with the growing presence of Mexican businesses in Spain, which now exceeds 1,500 companies,” he stated.

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