Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of Spain

08/20/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/20/2024 07:56

Spain wants the 2026 Ibero-American Summit to strengthen the region's voice in the world

PRESS RELEASE 51

Spain wants the 2026 Ibero-American Summit to strengthen the region's voice in the world

• The summit will be held in Spain at a key stage for the future of the Ibero-American System of Nations
• This particularly relevant meeting will approve the Four-Year Action Plan for Ibero-American Cooperation 2026-2029​
Today

Spain will again host the Ibero-American Summit, which will take place in 2026, after building consensus among all the Member States of the Ibero-American Conference. The Government's objective for this summit is to approve the Four-Year Action Plan for Ibero-American Cooperation 2026-29, to strengthen the relevance of the Ibero-American System of Nations and the voice of this region, which unites both sides of the Atlantic, around the world.

This will be Spain's fourth summit, after hosting this event in 1992, 2005 and 2012 in Madrid, Salamanca and Cadiz, respectively. This occasion will be particularly symbolic, being the thirtieth and coinciding with the 35th anniversary of the first Ibero-American Summit held in 1991 in the Mexican city of Guadalajara.

The choice of Spain recognises our country's commitment to the Ibero-American project, and the Government's commitment to strengthening this forum for dialogue, political coordination and cooperation, unique in the world in terms of its nature and scope.

Secretariat Pro Tempore

Once the Summit, scheduled for November 2024 in the Ecuadorian city of Cuenca, is over, Spain will assume the Secretariat Pro Tempore. During the 2025-2026 biennium it will coordinate, together with the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB), the schedule of meetings and events that representatives of the Member State nations and civil society will participate in.

The Spanish Government intends to identify, in permanent contact with the SEGIB, whose headquarters are in Spain, and with the States that make up the Ibero-American space, priority areas of action for this key period for reaffirming the values of the Ibero-American System of Nations.
At the 2026 Ibero-American Summit in Spain, the Four-Year Action Plan for Ibero-American Cooperation 2026-2029 will be approved. This makes the meeting particularly relevant, as cooperation is the cornerstone of this system, whose concrete initiatives have a direct and positive impact on the region's citizens.

Strong bond

Latin America and the Caribbean figure very prominently in Spanish foreign policy. We are united by history, language, close economic and cultural ties, and an unbreakable human bond with more than one and a half million Spanish citizens living in Ibero-America, and almost two million Ibero-American citizens living in Spain.

This bond is also reflected in our regional presence through the 22 resident Embassies, 33 Consulates, 14 Cultural Centres and 3 Training Centres that Spain maintains, and in the more than three decades of Spanish cooperation in Ibero-America.

Before the international community, Spain has always highlighted its dual, European and Ibero-American, nature. Therefore, during the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Spain put the region at the centre of the European agenda, as evidenced by the successful EU-CELAC Summit in July last year, during which a Roadmap, the Digital Alliance and the Global Gateway Investment Agenda were adopted. ​

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