The Ambassador, accompanied by the Consul General in Edinburgh, met with politicians, religious figures, businesspersons and leaders of both communities. In addition, he got to meet the Spanish community and gave a talk about Spain at Queens University.
The programme began on March 8th with a visit to Belfast City Hall. The Spanish Representative met with the municipal authorities, which he thanked for their collaboration with our Consulate General in Edinburgh for allowing them to use the municipal facilities so that Spanish residents in Northern Ireland can renew their passports, or carry out Civil Registry and Notary procedures.
Subsequently, the Ambassador met with Representatives of the Catholic, Anglican, Methodist and Presbyterian Churches, as well as the Council of Irish Churches, who discussed the situation in Northern Ireland.
The Ambassador then visited Queens University, where he gave a talk on Spain and our foreign policy. He also visited a photographic exhibition, chatted with Spanish teachers and students, and met with the academic authorities of the centre.
In the afternoon the Ambassador held a meeting with the Northern Ireland Police in order to explore ways of cooperating between the Spanish and Northern Irish police on issues such as community policing.
On the second day of the visit, the Ambassador went to the Northern Ireland Parliament, where he was received by the Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr. Alex Maskey. Furthermore, the Spanish Representative went to Stormont Castle, the Headquarters of the Northern Irish Executive, to participate in a round table with the Permanent Secretary of the Executive Office, Mr. Denis McMahon, and the Director of International Relations and Strategy for the EU, Lyndsey Moore.
In the afternoon, the Ambassador met with the Director of the Northern Ireland Government Agency for the Promotion of Investments, in order to learn about the potential investment fields for Spanish companies. Later the Ambassador was received by the Mayor of Belfast, Christine Black, taking the opportunity to thank the city council for its support to the Edinburgh Consulate.
At the same time, an act was held with the Spanish community, in which the Ambassador met our compatriots. In addition, the Honorary Consul in Belfast, Trevor McBurney, was awarded the Decoration of the Order of the Civil Merit for his service to the Spanish for more than a decade.
The Ambassador's stay was completed with a visit on March 10th to the Belfast Interchange, built by the Spanish company Sacyr.