The Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, will be meeting tomorrow, 30 October, with the Under-Secretary-General of the UN Department of Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, to discuss the situation in the Middle East, the current escalation in Lebanon and its impact on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
The meeting with Albares, who is travelling to New York on Tuesday to begin his agenda in the United States, comes after UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for an urgent meeting on 15 October with countries responsible for providing troops to UNIFIL to discuss the situation on the ground. This comes following the Israeli attacks against the mission, in which five blue helmets were wounded.
Spain strongly condemned these actions while demanding that Israel put an immediate end to these attacks and comply with its obligations under International Humanitarian Law and Security Council Resolution 1701. The UN Secretary-General himself also joined in this condemnation and, at the same time, warned that these attacks may be construed as war crimes.
The Minister will also meet with the International Experts Committee for the International Conference on Financing for Development to be held in Seville in 2025. This Committee, made up of seven women and seven men, who represent all the regions and fields of the financing for development agenda, aims to prepare an independent technical report that will contribute both strategic and academic elements to the Conference's intergovernmental negotiation process.
Albares will convey to the Committee Spain's commitment to this Conference, while at the same time redoubling its efforts, as a key player in achieving consensus, to ensure that the preparatory process is inclusive and draws on the input of independent experts.
The Spanish Minister also plans to give a lecture at Columbia University on the topic of the ‘new Spanish foreign policy’ and will take the opportunity to meet with Spaniards studying at this institution, which is the fifth oldest University in the United States.
All of this will take place following the Minister’s arrival at the US city on Tuesday, where he will hold a meeting with his Brazilian counterpart, Mauro Viera, with whom he will review the excellent bilateral relationship between the two countries, as well as other issues on which Spain and Brazil can cooperate to tackle the main challenges facing the Ibero-American region.
‘FPA Medal’
After this meeting, Albares will attend the Foreign Policy Association (FPA) gala dinner, where he will be awarded the ‘FPA Medal’. This is the highest award granted by this association, which has been in existence for more than 100 years and is devoted to promoting the study and analysis of international relations. The ‘FPA Medal’ acknowledges individuals who exhibit responsible international work and contribute towards broadening public understanding of global issues.
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