Speech by President of the Government during visit to training centre run by Spanish aid workers

Antigua (Guatemala)

Ladies and gentlemen, a very good day to you and thank you very much for attending.

I would like to start this speech, which is the first I have made since arriving in this country last night, in Guatemala, by saying that for me, as President of the Government of Spain, and also as a Spaniard and as a human being, it is a true honour to be here today. It is an honour to be in Guatemala, which is a country that is bound to the Spanish people in many ways; we are united by our shared history, by our language, by our traditions, and even by our religion, but, above all, the most important thing that should bind us is the future.

I want to say that this is a double honour because, as well as being here in Guatemala, I am in Antigua, which is one of the cities that is a World Heritage Site; it is a city with a history, with a heritage, a venerable city that is graceful. It has been a true honour for me to be here today for the first time in my life. I believe that you have a heritage of which you can feel justifiably proud.

I would like to extend my thanks to the President of Guatemala, to Otto Pérez Molina. He invited me to come here during the Ibero-American Summit in Veracruz last December. He said he would like me to make a trip with bilateral content and to improve and increase relations between Spain and Guatemala, but he also wanted me to attend a meeting of this association and of this integration process between Guatemala and other Central American countries, such as El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras… In short, there are various countries that are trying to work together and find common areas to improve their level of well-being and wealth which is, in the end, the issue at hand. That seems like a wonderful idea to me. I have been living through this in Europe, through processes like the European Union; and I have been asked to attend the meetings tomorrow and I will be there, a great honour to do so.

I want to say to you that relations between Guatemala and Spain are wonderful. In 2013, the President came to visit Spain and in 2014, Queen Sofia was here, which is the last time she took an active role in seeing what Spanish cooperation was doing outside of Spain. That was the last time that she was here in Guatemala. And now I am here as President of the Government.

Our aim, although this will be difficult because relations are already wonderful, is to further improve these relations and we will do everything that is in our hands. Spanish companies will continue to come here, they will continue to invest here and they will continue to create jobs here. I believe that this is very important and very necessary. It is good for the Spanish people, good for Spanish companies, but it is also good for all the people of Guatemala.

Spain will continue to support Guatemala and all Central American countries in their relations with the European Union. The European Union is now a giant where many powers have been handed over and there is now a trade agreement, which I believe is positive, with all the countries in Central America. Spain fervently supported this and we will continue to do so in the future and, as I said earlier, it is important that this integration process with the rest of the countries to find common ground should continue.

Above all, what I want to point out and affirm once again is Spain's commitment to Guatemala on cooperation issues. This has been happening for many years now and it will continue in the future. I believe that between us all we have done some good and positive things and indeed we have just been visiting the building where training courses are offered here, which are very useful. A city such as Antigua must have well-trained people, who love their heritage and identify with it, who fight for it and who can take decisions and do things to help preserve it. Having a heritage is good in itself but, moreover, from the point of view of tourism, it is a significant wealth that allows many people to make a living.

Hence, Spain will continue to help. The major objectives of the Cooperation Plan 2013-2016 are threefold; there are more, but principally three: firstly, training, because it is key for people to find a job and be able to work; secondly, equality for women; and thirdly, we will fight with all our resolve to combat child malnutrition. I believe that these are undoubtedly three of the noblest objectives that a human being can have, and hence, three of the most important objectives and obligations that a government should have.

Today is International Women's Day. In Spain, ensuring equality is enshrined in the law, it is one of the main objectives of Spanish cooperation but, very often the law is one thing and the harsh reality is another. Certain efforts have been made over the course of the last few years, judicial areas have been improved, as has education on this issue - the explanation - but I believe that there is still an awful lot to do and hence, anywhere in the world, whether in Spain, in Guatemala or anywhere else, it is an absolute priority and key that we know how to rise to this challenge which is a fight to defend the dignity of our status as human beings.

And so, thank you all very much. As I said at the beginning, it is an honour as a Spaniard to be here. My presence here in Guatemala arouses many feelings in me, each of which is positive; one is also entitled to experience positive things in life.

Ladies and gentlemen, good luck to you all. Spain is your friend now and forever.

Thank you.