The Diplomat
Rebeca Grynspan concluded yesterday her mandate as head of the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB) with a message in which she thanked the “constant support” of the 22 member states, which has allowed “strengthening the Ibero-American Conference and consolidating it as a space for political dialogue, meeting and cooperation”.
With this message, the Costa Rican politician puts an end to an intense week of farewells after two terms (2014-2021) at the head of the Ibero-American General Secretariat, which began with a meeting with the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, to whom she assured that “Spain’s commitment to Ibero-America is, today more than ever, essential for the Ibero-American Community”.
Later, the Ibero-American Secretary General had an audience with King Felipe VI, whose presence, she declared, “has been extremely valuable and constant at the four Ibero-American Summits I have had the honor of attending”, and was received by the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who awarded her the Grand Cross of the Order of Infante Don Enrique, one of the country’s highest distinctions.
According to SEGIB, Grynspan’s administration has been characterized by “the renewal of the Ibero-American Summits, the successful commitment to political dialogue and cooperation, and a greater international projection of Ibero-America in global political and multilateral spaces”. The four Ibero-American Summits of Heads of State and Government held during his term (Mexico 2014, Colombia 2016, Guatemala 2018 and Andorra 2021) were attended by the 22 countries of the region and focused on concrete results for citizens.
Apart from that, “during the COVID-19 pandemic, Grynspan was a leading voice in calling for effective multilateral action to expand access to vaccines and facilitate new financing instruments for Ibero-American countries” and the “renewal driven during her mandate” has allowed for the forging of “a more strategic Ibero-American Cooperation, which is committed to expanding the areas of action in areas such as gender equality, the environment, innovation, entrepreneurship and digital transformation, academic mobility, cultural diplomacy and the creation of the Ibero-American Institute of Indigenous Languages,” SEGIB continued.
“I want to thank the countries for their constant support during these years to strengthen the Ibero-American Conference and consolidate it as a space for political dialogue, encounter and cooperation”, said Grynspan yesterday, who next Monday, September 13, will begin her term as the new secretary general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) for a period of four years, after being appointed in June by the secretary general of the United Nations (UN), António Guterres. It is the first time that a woman has been appointed to head the UN’s main agency for trade, investment and development.
