The King Felipe VI has arrived in Cuenca, in the south of Ecuador, to participate in the XXIX Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government which opens this Thursday and is attended by delegates from twenty countries united by the ‘innovation, inclusion and sustainability’ of the Ibero-American community.
Upon his arrival at the airport in Cuenca, a city located in the southern Ecuadorian Andes, the king was received by the governor of the Azuay region, Luis Santiago Malo; the Spanish ambassador to Ecuador, Enrique Erik Yturriaga; the director of Protocol of the Republic of Ecuador, Verónica Peña, and the head of the military region, Manuel Dávila, among other authorities.
Shortly before the arrival of the king, to which accompanied by the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel AlbaresThe President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, also landed in this Ecuadorian city.
Only two other heads of state, that of Paraguay, Santiago Peña, and that of the host country, Daniel Noboa, together with the chief executive of Andorra, Xavier Espot, are attending this summit, which will be attended by the President of the Republic of Ecuador, Marcelo Rebelo Sousa. will have the lowest representation since this type of forum began to be held in 1991.
The President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, is one of the absentees in Cuenca, where he has not gone to attend to the management in Spain of the effects of the floods caused by the dana in the Valencian Community.
Thursday, the king will visit the facilities of the Soccer Schools at the La Gloria Sports Complex.where an initiative for the insertion of children and young people in education in values through sports, developed by the Ecuadorian NGO ‘Junta de Beneficencia de Guayaquil’ and promoted by Club Atlético de Madrid, whose president, Enrique Cerezo, will also attend.
Felipe VI will later attend the presentation of the Ibero-American Disability Card.an instrument that will provide a regional framework for the recognition of the rights of persons with disabilities in Ibero-America, an initiative organized by the Ibero-American General Secretariat (Segib) and ONCE.
A charter that will facilitate mobility, access to culture, sports, accessible information and communication services and the enjoyment of tourism by people with disabilities among the countries of the Ibero-American region, on equal terms with other people.
Also, the king will close the XV Ibero-American Business Meeting which takes place in the city of Cuenca, where a Manifesto for Employability will be approved, the Ibero-American Quality Awards will be presented and the presidency of the Council of Ibero-American Businessmen (CEIB) will be handed over to Antonio Garamendi, president of the CEOE, and he will attend, together with Albares, the opening ceremony of the XXIX Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government at the Pumpapongo Museum, as well as the opening dinner hosted by the president of Ecuador.
A summit that has on its agenda security, human mobility, the recognition of university degrees and financing for development.
The following day, Friday, and after a meeting with the president of ParaguaySantiago Peña, the king will address the plenary session, which will end with the transfer of the so-called Pro Tempore Secretariat to the Kingdom of Spain.where the next summit will be held in 2026.
For his part, the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation will participate this Wednesday evening in the dinner of foreign ministers, organized by the Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld, and on Thursday he will take part in the meeting of Ibero-American Foreign Ministers.
Spain was unanimously elected to host the next summit. so that during the next two years it will be in charge of organizing the Ibero-American ministerial conferences, as well as the meetings of foreign ministers and national coordinators and other forums and preparatory meetings for the next summit.