SPAIN AND COSTA RICA COMMIT TO PROMOTE SPANISH IN INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS​

By Eduardo González / The Diplomat in Spain

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain, José Manuel Albares, received this Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Madrid his counterpart from Costa Rica, Arnoldo André Tinoco, with whom he signed an agreement for the promotion of Spanish in the diplomatic sphere and international organizations.

Albares had lunch and a meeting with André at the ministerial headquarters of the Palacio de Viana, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press release. During the meeting, the two ministers signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the international promotion of the Spanish language in the diplomatic field and in international organizations.

The agreement, according to Albares’ Department, vindicates “the global language character of Spanish, which is the second native language by number of speakers in the world and the official language of the United Nations”.

Under the agreement, the two countries undertake to promote the presence and recognition of the Spanish language in diplomacy and international organizations, especially in the United Nations system, as well as in the legal sector and international arbitration.

The Memorandum of Understanding also highlights the commitment of the Ibero-American countries to international law and the peaceful settlement of disputes, and especially to international legal cooperation.

This is the third bilateral agreement for this purpose in the last month and a half, following those signed on March 6 with the Foreign Minister of Panama, Janaina Tewaney, and on April 15 with the Foreign Minister of El Salvador, Alexandra Hill Tinoco.

On the other hand, Albares and André Tinoco reviewed the bilateral, regional and multilateral agenda, in which they highlighted “the coincidences on the main issues”, and showed their interest in continuing to deepen and expand the “excellent” bilateral relations, “attending to the new common challenges, such as the migratory challenge”.

At the meeting, Minister Albares reiterated to his Costa Rican counterpart the commitment of Spanish cooperation with his country, which this year celebrates its 40th anniversary, and with the integration process in the Central American region through the Ibero-American Integration System (SICA), of which Spain is an extra-regional Observer State, “accompanying its socioeconomic and institutional development, especially in these times of uncertainty that it is going through”.

The Costa Rican Foreign Minister is in Spain as part of a tour of Europe to promote the High-Level Conference on Ocean Action to be organized by his country on June 7 and 8, as André Tinoco himself explained to The Diplomat during an exclusive interview in the library of Casa América.

During the same interview, the minister highlighted the recent entry into force of the Association Agreement between the EU and Central America (AACUE) and recalled that, with this agreement and the bilateral treaties for the protection of investments and to avoid double taxation, Costa Rica has already completed its “institutional framework” of relations with Spain, “the second foreign investor” in his country.

He also assured that, although the agenda of President Rodrigo Chaves “is always very tight”, an upcoming tour of several countries, including Spain, is not excluded.

The Minister’s visit to Spain included, on Monday, a lunch with the members of the Business Council Alliance for Ibero-America (CEAPI), before whom he assured that Costa Rica is a reliable partner, with a solid democratic tradition and recognized legal security, and in which it is possible to invest with peace of mind.

André also met that day with the Ibero-American Affairs Commission of the Congress and the spokespersons of the parliamentary groups, with the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz, with whom he discussed the migratory challenge faced by Costa Rica and Spain, and with the director of the Carolina Foundation, Erika Rodríguez Pinzón.

On Tuesday, the Chancellor was received by representatives of the Airbus company, the Ibero-American Secretary General (SEGIB), Andrés Allamand, and the director of the Spanish Agency of International Cooperation for Development (AECID), Antón Leis, and participated in an event of the Instituto de Empresa (IE).

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This article was originally published in The Diplomat in Spain, with whose permission we reproduce it here.