During her intervention in a panel on the future of International Trade and its implications for Security, the minister indicated that the European Union should lead this fight for an international system based on standards and preserve the institutions that have ensured decades of stability. However, he considered that the international community must adapt to respond better to a changing scenario. In addition, he noted that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide us with a clear framework for action to respond to the main challenges.
In that same intervention, in which she was accompanied by Kristalina Georgieva, director general of the IMF, economist Joseph Stiglitz and US Senator Mitt Romney, among others, also referred to the efforts made by our country to lead this adaptation by putting sustainability and digitalization at the center of our international strategy.
During the Conference that was held in Munich on February 14 and 15 and in which numerous Heads of State and ministers participated, several thematic meetings were held on pressing issues such as the outbreak of coronavirus, the preservation of multilateralism, the Women Peace and Security initiative and the future of International Trade and its implications for security.
On the margins of the meeting there has also been a ministerial meeting with some European countries of the Small Group of the Global Coalition against Daesh. France, Germany, United Kingdom, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway and Italy participated in this meeting. In that meeting the current state of the Coalition and the need to continue the fight against the terrorist group in Iraq and Syria have been addressed. Special attention was paid to an eventual adaptation of the Coalition following the latest political events in Iraq. Spain reiterated its commitment to Iraqi sovereignty and its strong support for the Global Coalition.
On the other hand, among the main bilateral meetings that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation has been able to hold during these two days, the meetings with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of some countries of the Mediterranean basin and the Middle East can be highlighted like Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and Iran. He has also met with his colleagues from Canada, India, Georgia and Armenia, in addition to the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority.
The Munich Conference is, since its inception in 1963, one of the main discussion forums on foreign policy and, possibly, the most relevant in security matters. It is a truly global meeting in which members from NATO participate to other powers such as Russia or China. In recent years, other issues related to security in a broad sense such as those related to the environment or economic security have begun to be included.
