António Guterres highlights Spain's commitment to multilateralism
The President of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, has received the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), António Guterres, who is on an official visit to Spain, at the Moncloa Palace. The UN Secretary-General began his trip with a visit to the United Nations Information and Communications Technology Centre (UNICTF-V) in Valencia, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the centre, where he was accompanied by the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arancha González Laya, and the regional president of the Valencian Community, Ximo Puig.
This visit is part of the reform project led by Guterres focused on promoting the efficiency of the United Nations system. According to EFE, the UN plans to create its own internet data cloud system to avoid relying on international companies. One of the two nodes of the project will be installed in the centre located in Spain and the other in Geneva (Switzerland). The Valencia Technology Centre has thus become a reference point for the UN that will serve as a base for new projects led by the organisation.
António Guterres also held a meeting with the President of Spain, Pedro Sánchez. During the joint appearance after the meeting with the Secretary General, Sánchez stressed Spain's commitment to multilateralism. Likewise, the President of the Spanish Executive wanted to emphasise the migratory challenge that Spain is experiencing, accentuated by the diplomatic crisis with Morocco, which reached its highest point of tension last May with the entry of more than 8,000 people in an irregular manner into the autonomous community of Ceuta.
Pedro Sánchez expressed the need to adopt a "more humanistic" vision when it comes to tackling the migration challenge, highlighting the signing of the United Nations Global Compact on Migration adopted in 2018. This agreement was welcomed by the majority of the States that make up the UN and aims to strengthen international cooperation to ensure that migration takes place in a "safe, orderly and regular" manner, in the words of the UN Secretary General himself.
The Spanish leader said that his government "feels that the UN's multilateral agenda is its own" and that the government is "completely aligned with the 2030 Agenda". Pedro Sánchez ended his speech by reinforcing Spain's alliance with the UN. "Here you have a friendly government," Sánchez asserted. For his part, António Guterres expressed his "solidarity and admiration" for Spain for what it suffered during the pandemic. Guterres stressed that this visit had allowed him to "witness Spain's exemplary cooperation with the United Nations system".
Guterres also highlighted the Spanish government's commitment to the COVAX mechanism, as well as to climate change. The Secretary-General of the United Nations mentioned the Paris Agreement and its financing for developing countries in terms of mitigation and adaptation, and highlighted the decisive role that Spain can play in this regard by being "a bridge from the North with credibility in the South".
During the appearance, the controversial pardons for the leaders of the "procés" could not go unmentioned. When asked about this, the Secretary General stated that "it is not for a UN Secretary General to comment on the internal politics of member states", but that "all problems have to be solved politically" and that for this "dialogue is an essential element". After this meeting with the Spanish President, Pedro Sánchez, the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, will meet with King Felipe VI at the Zarzuela.
