United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has thanked Spain for what he described as its firm commitment to the UN and to multilateralism.
The Portuguese diplomat made the remarks during a meeting with King Felipe VI at the Palace of La Zarzuela in Madrid on November 5, according to the Spanish Royal Household.
The two men discussed the contribution of the Ibero-American Summit to international dialogue and cooperation. They also reviewed the situation in the Middle East and the Ukraine war.
Spanish defence minister Margarita Robles also attended the meeting. It was held on the margins of the 30th Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, which took place in the Spanish capital on November 4-5.
The encounter was one of the last between the monarch and Guterres in his current role. His second five-year term as head of the UN ends on December 31.
The race to succeed him is under way, with Latin America seen as next in line under the organisation’s informal regional rotation. Contenders include Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan, a former Ibero-American secretary-general, and Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Guterres was among the guests at the Madrid summit, as was European Council President António Costa, according to the Royal Household.
Ibero-American summits bring together the heads of state and government of 22 countries from Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula. This year’s was the fourth hosted by Spain, after Madrid in 1992, Salamanca in 2005 and Cádiz in 2012.
The Madrid gathering was overshadowed by the absence of several leaders. Only 10 of the 22 countries were represented at the highest level, according to the Spanish daily El Independiente.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum were among those who stayed away. Their absence was seen in the Spanish press as a setback for Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who faces a snap general election on November 29.
Argentine President Javier Milei did attend, despite a bitter row with Sánchez. Milei had branded the Socialist leader a dictator during a visit to Madrid on October 21.
Leaders approved a final Declaration of Madrid, avoiding a repeat of the 2024 summit in Cuenca, Ecuador, where no joint text was agreed for the first time. Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica and Paraguay distanced themselves from some of its commitments though.
Spain handed over the rotating Pro Tempore Secretariat of the Ibero-American Conference to Honduras at the close of the summit. Felipe VI said the spirit of the summits emerged strengthened from Madrid.
