España en Iberoamérica

Spain in Ibero-America

January 27, 2025

Human, historical, social, cultural, political, economic, and linguistic ties have made Ibero-America a priority for Spain's foreign policy.

At bilateral level, Spain has revitalised and strengthened relations with fraternal Latin American and Caribbean countries, enhancing mechanisms for political dialogue and collaboration in international organisations.

Spain defends shared values in the region such as democracy, the rule of law, and the safeguarding of human rights, especially for the most vulnerable, particularly focusing on indigenous and Afro-descendant populations.

Society, economy and culture: strong ties unite Spain with the region

Ibero-America and Spain are united by an indispensable human component, since America is the place of residence of the largest number of Spaniards abroad and Spain is home to a growing Ibero-American community.

In addition, in its relations with the continent, Spain pays specific attention to the Caribbean as a region that offers unique characteristics and faces a particular set of challenges.

Spain is one of the main investors in Ibero-America and has a prominent presence in key sectors of the development and social modernisation process, such as banking, energy, communications, construction and infrastructure management, tourism and public service provision.

Therefore, Spain considers it essential not only to reinforce dialogue and promote cooperation in order to contribute to the institutional strengthening of Ibero-American nations, but also to support effective economic reform processes that promote growth and favour the redistribution of wealth and equity.

Group photo of the EU-CELAC Summit held in Brussels in July 2023, during the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU. Photo: EFE / Olivier Matthys

Spain strengthens the strategic relationship between Ibero-America and the European Union

Spain plays an essential role in the design of European Union policy towards Ibero-America and the Caribbean. As a proponent of integration and multilateralism as the best response to the new international reality, our country supports the various processes of economic, political and trade integration and keenly observes the new integrative initiatives that are being developed in the region.

During the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2023, the Third EU-CELAC Summit (17-18 July 2023) was promoted, recovering the format of dialogue at the highest level that had not taken place since its last meeting in 2015.

At this Summit, the European, Latin American and Caribbean States stressed the common values uniting them and reiterated the biennial nature of the EU-CELAC Summits, with a view to holding the next one in 2025 in Colombia.

Important agreements emerged from the Third EU-CELAC Summit, such as the Joint Declaration on the EU's Digital Alliance with Latin America and the Caribbean, which promotes dialogue and cooperation on digital matters for the benefit of citizens in both regions.

Among the achievements made during the Spanish Presidency, a commitment was agreed to invest €45 billion to support the strengthened partnership with Latin America and the Caribbean until 2027 through the Global Gateway strategy, a platform that includes a list of projects developed in close collaboration with the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, together with the Secretary General of the OAS, Luis Almagro, and the Spanish Ambassador to the OAS, Carmen Montón, during a visit to the OAS headquarters in Washington in May 2023. Photo: Javier Hernández (Nolsom) / MFA

Spain in Ibero-American multilateral organisations

Spain participates in the Ibero-American Community of Nations, as a privileged forum for dialogue and cooperation with fraternal countries in the region, but it also projects its participation towards other regional spaces.

Spain's role in Ibero-America is also strengthened by our participation in various Ibero-American multilateral organisations as observers.

For example, the Organisation of American States (OAS), since February 1972, or the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI), since November 1982.

Spain also has observer status in the Central American Integration System (SICA), since 2004, and in the Andean Community of Nations (CAN), since 2011. In November 2012, Spain became the first country to join the Pacific Alliance as an observer.

Spain in the financial institutions of Latin America and the Caribbean

Additionally, Spain's plays a very active role in Ibero-America's financial institutions such as the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean and the Inter-American Development Bank, to which it contributes both in the bank's ordinary capital and in the budget for special operations, including the Spanish Cooperation Fund for Water and Sanitation in Latin America and the Caribbean, Spain's General Cooperation Fund, the Sustainable Energy and Climate Change Fund, and the Spanish Trust Fund for the Social Entrepreneurship Programme.