Ibero-American summit opens in Madrid

King Felipe VI and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez opened the 30th Ibero-American Summit in Madrid with nine heads of state attending. It runs on 4–5 November; topics include disaster response, recognition of degrees and data protection.

The ceremony at the Teatro Real began with a minute’s silence for the victims of the Urda train crash, after which Gustavo Dudamel conducted Venezuela’s National Youth Symphony Orchestra. The King spoke of challenges such as artificial intelligence and climate change and said the summit should improve people’s lives. Argentina’s President Javier Milei skipped the opening and, according to RTVE, will attend only the plenary on 5 November.

Sánchez urged Latin American and Caribbean countries to draw closer to the European Union, as Canada has done. For Costa Blanca residents, many of whom come from Latin America, the practical interest is the mutual recognition of degrees: if an agreement is reached, we will report the details.