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European RoyalsSpain

King Felipe attends welcome dinner for Mobile World Congress Barcelona and dedicates touching words to Ukraine

King Felipe of Spain concluded his first week back to work after COVID-19 isolation by travelling to Barcelona to take part in the GSMA Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2022. 

His Majesty was in the Catalonian capital on Sunday and Monday, with the first day dedicated to the welcoming dinner for the Congress.

Arriving at the National Museum of Art of Catalonia on the evening of Sunday, 27 February, King Felipe was welcomed by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, among other authorities. 

Following a short meeting, interventions form the Mayor of Barcelona, the Director of GSMA, the President of Catalonia and the Prime Minister preceded a speech from the King. 

During his intervention, which he delivered in Catalan, Castellan and English, the monarch has highlighted the quick progress Spain has made as an attractive place to begin start-up businesses in the technology sector, and the role the availability of skilled workers played in this growth. 

It was then time to eat dinner, but not before the King offered a part of his speech to the current situation in Eastern Europe, with Russia continuing to maintain a military presence in Ukraine after invading its neighbour on 24 February. 

As a result of the invasion, King Felipe was actually forced to change his agenda last minute, sending Queen Letizia alone to open ArCo Madrid, a contemporary art fair, and cancelling their trip to La Palma island. His Majesty, instead, presided over an emergency security council. 

And because of the hybrid forms of warfare adopted by Russia during the conflict, events like the GSMA Mobile World Congress take an even bigger role than they had in the past. 

The Congress was instituted in 2012 and is turning ten this year. It is dedicated to transforming Barcelona in an attractive city to welcome investments in the telecommunications sector. 

The themes for this year were, among others, a global 5G network, financial technology, artificial intelligence, climate change and cybersecurity, all of which are issues that have been brought even more in the spotlight by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.