The Diplomat
The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, will give a speech before the Congress next Wednesday, during a special parliamentary session, as part of his state visit to Spain.
Petro will be the fifth head of state to visit the Cortes in this legislature, after those of Qatar, Ukraine, Italy and the Republic of Korea. Of the previous ones, only Sergio Matarella and Volodimir Zeleski (by videoconference) have delivered speeches before the Spanish Parliament, as the Colombian president is scheduled to do.
Gustavo Petro will arrive at 12:00 noon at the palace of Carrera de San Jerónimo, at whose main entrance he will be received by the President of the Congress, Meritxell Batet, and the President of the Senate, Ander Gil.
After listening to the national anthems of both countries in the Patio de Floridablanca, the entourage will go to the Salón de los Pasos Perdidos, where Batet and Gil will introduce Petro to the vice presidents, the secretaries of the Bureau of both chambers and the spokespersons of the parliamentary groups.
During this act, the President of Colombia will receive the medals of the Congress and the Senate, after which he will sign the Book of Honor. The visit to the legislative seat will end after Petro’s speech to the parliamentarians. He will also receive the Collar of the Order of Isabella the Catholic, whose concession was approved by the Government in its last Council of Ministers, last April 25.
The Colombian president will arrive the day before, May 2, in Madrid, where he will attend an event with the Colombian community within the framework of the Consular Services Fair.
On May 3 and 4, he will meet with King Felipe VI at the Zarzuela Palace, attend a gala dinner at the Royal Palace and hold a meeting with the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, at the Moncloa Palace. He is also scheduled to give a lecture at the Complutense University of Madrid.
The visit only has the rejection of Vox, the ultra-right party has already announced its approach by placing the Colombian president on its ‘black’ list of Latin American leaders that it labels as “liberticides”.
