King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain have hosted a lunch in honour of the President of the Republic of Colombia, Iván Duque Márquez , who is making a three-day official visit to Spain. The lunch took place at the Royal Palace in Madrid on September 16th 2021. Before the lunch, King Felipe VI held a meeting in the Palace of La Zarzuela with President Duque.
During the meal, His Majesty the King gave a speech in which said: “The ties that unite us do not only look towards the past, but are decidedly projected towards the future, marking a joint path when facing the great challenges of the current global era. Spain and Colombia share such important approaches as the need for green reconstruction, the commitment to renewable energies, or equality between men and women”.
His Majesty King Felipe also said: “The ties that unite both countries start from a shared history of three centuries, which were decisive in forging the identities and rich culture of our peoples because neither Spain nor Colombia can be understood without that common past, it defines us and gave rise to a joint legacy of values, to similar visions of the world in which Spaniards and Colombians recognize ourselves as members of the great Ibero-American family”.
President Duque’s official visit to Spain, is part of a tour that he is carrying out through various European countries, including France, the United Kingdom and Italy, with the main objective of advancing economic agreements and deepening and strengthen bilateral relations. The visit of the President of Colombia takes place at a time that marks 140 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations with Spain, a country that is the main European investor in Colombia and the second in the world, after the United States.
To conclude the meeting King Felipe by praising: “the valuable role of Spanish Cooperation, which operates today in the most disadvantaged areas of Colombia, engaging in the development of their communities, in the well-being of refugees and migrants, or in the comprehensive application of the Agreements of peace. The new Country Association Framework that our two countries recently signed will be, surely, an instrument of great value to guide the actions of our cooperation”.
