Abinader attends the opening of the 30th Ibero-American Summit in Madrid alongside King Felipe VI

President Luis Abinader took part on Wednesday in the opening of the 30th Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, held at Madrid's Teatro Real in Spain, in the presence of King Felipe VI and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

The ceremony was also attended by Ibero-American Secretary-General Andrés Allamand and leaders and representatives of the other countries in the Ibero-American community. The meeting takes place on the 35th anniversary of the creation of the Ibero-American General Secretariat and seeks to strengthen dialogue, cooperation and solidarity among participating nations, with a view to building fairer, more prosperous and more inclusive societies.

In his address, King Felipe VI urged the region's leaders to keep supporting the Ibero-American summit system and renew their cooperation efforts to respond jointly to global challenges. 'No one knows precisely what the world will be like a few years from now, but we do know it will keep demanding answers and solutions to challenges bigger than any of our countries, considered individually,' the monarch said.

Pedro Sánchez and Andrés Allamand agreed on the need to strengthen cooperation commitments among the 22 countries in this forum, whose population exceeds 700 million people.

The agenda for this 30th edition includes debates on digital transformation and artificial intelligence, food and nutritional security, disaster risk reduction, mental health of children and adolescents, digital skills training for young people and academic mobility for health professionals. It also covers sustainable tourism, culture, innovation, equality, social cohesion and democratic strengthening.

Abinader's participation reaffirms the Dominican Republic's presence in Ibero-American dialogue and consensus forums. According to the official agenda released before the summit, the president will attend Thursday's plenary session of heads of state and government at the Royal Collections Gallery, and has bilateral meetings scheduled with Costa Rican President Laura Fernández; CAF executive president Sergio Díaz-Granados; and European Investment Bank President Nadia Calviño.

This article follows up on the one published by A Lo Claro on Wednesday morning, when Abinader arrived in Madrid to take part in the summit, which runs November 4 and 5.

Photo: Presidency of the Dominican Republic

Source: Al Minuto