SEVILLE, 21 (EUROPA PRESS)
King Felipe VI has invited the strengthening of the multilateral relationship between Spain and the Ibero-American countries after receiving this Monday the ‘Distinction of Honor’ from the Torre del Oro Ibero-American Awards, at the Real Alcázar of Seville.
In his speech, the Monarch showed his “deep satisfaction” at receiving this distinction, on the one hand, “by the institution that promotes it”, the Chamber of Commerce of Seville, in collaboration with the Cajasol Foundation, as well as by the payroll of winners, among whom he has named Felipe González or the Royal Academy of Language.
The third reason argued by Felipe VI is that this award “recognizes a constant that I am proud of and is a hallmark of the Crown: helping to strengthen and multiply the ties of mutual knowledge, cooperation, solidarity and affection with Latin America.” and with the entire Ibero-American Community of Nations”.
In this sense, he highlighted that his first official trip, in 1983, when he was “15 years old”, was “to participate in the events of the 450th anniversary of the founding of Cartagena de Indias.” Thus, he recalled that he visited the Colombian city “together with President Felipe González and our host, Colombian President Belisario Betancur, a trip that, it is astonishing to think, has been going on for more than forty years.”
“In this time, more than a hundred official trips to the region have allowed me to get to know the brother countries of Ibero-America, participate in the great moments of their institutional and political life, and their multilateral meetings,” the Monarch highlighted.
In the words of Felipe VI, “I could not recognize myself as I am now, honestly, without that Ibero-American background, which is not only a determining element in my way of seeing the world, and of understanding our place, Spain, in it, but also “a vocation to put our brotherhood into practice, to understand and embrace our shared history, and thus win a better future for all our citizens, achieving greater cooperation, harmony and influence on major global issues.”
Furthermore, he once again referred to his words before the meeting of the Hispano-American Academies of History a couple of weeks ago in Trujillo, Extremadura: “In this time of great global challenges, which require the coordinated effort of all, the focus of our relationship It must be oriented towards the present, in order to prepare or build an even better future, of greater shared benefit, of greater opportunities. The essential thing is to gain momentum as it unites us, in our affinities, to achieve pragmatic, useful and balanced responses. that they reach everyone,” he noted.
HIGHLIGHTS THE IMPORTANCE OF THE IBERO-AMERICAN SUMMITS
For this last task, the King has expressed that “the Ibero-American Community of Nations created, more than thirty years ago, its maximum political and diplomatic expression: the Ibero-American Conference.” This, as well as its Summits, he stated, “constitutes an effective framework for the constructive development of our relations, reinforced since 2003 with the creation of the Ibero-American Permanent General Secretariat.”
“No multilateral framework is perfect nor is it ever completely finished, as no human work is or is, but the Ibero-American system has more than demonstrated its usefulness and potential; as well as its robustness in the face of the diversity of regional and internal crises of some countries, in the face of ideological divisions or polarization and in the face of external or global ‘shocks’ with more distant or foreign causes, let us continue strengthening it, exploring its resources and possibilities, renewing year after year our commitment to the Summits,” the Monarch stressed. .
Finally, the King thanked the recognition that is being made, with this Extraordinary Torre del Oro Award, “to the Crown in my person and my commitment to Ibero-America.” “Rest assured that I will continue to invest my energies, and what I can contribute in terms of knowledge and ability, in this noble cause,” remarked Felipe VI.
‘DISTINCTION OF HONOR’
This is an annual recognition, co-organized by the Seville Chamber of Commerce and the Cajasol Foundation, which recognizes a top-level personality or entity whose career is closely related to the promotion of political, commercial, economic and cultural among Ibero-American countries.
In this 2024 edition, the Honor Committee has unanimously decided to grant the ‘Distinction of Honor’ of the Extraordinary Ibero-American Torre del Oro Award to Don Felipe in recognition “of the effort, dedication and enhancement of political, commercial, economic and cultural relations among the Ibero-American countries that he has been developing since the beginning of his reign”.