"Miguel A. Moratinos: ""Spain's presence in the G-20 is definitively being consolidated"""

At the presentation of the CIDOB International Yearbook 2009, Miguel Ángel Moratinos, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, announced that Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero would be attending the coming G-20 Summit in Pittsburg. Spain's presence at the summit was confirmed following an invitation sent by Barack Obama, President of the United States, to Prime Minister Zapatero. 

The Yearbook, which this year dedicates its traditional Country Profile section to the United States of America, was presented at the Chamber of Commerce in Barcelona on 16 July, an event that was also attended by Miquel Valls, President of the Chamber of Commerce, and Narcís Serra, President of the CIDOB Foundation. 

The Foreign Affairs minister reflected on relations between Spain and the United States, claiming that the two countries have now entered a new political phase following the arrival of the new Obama administration at the White House. Proof of this is the invitation received from the world’s leading power to attend the upcoming G-20 Summit in September in Pittsburg. Moratinos declared that as this was now the third time that Spain had attended this event, it represented a consolidation of the country's participation in one of the most important economic forums in the world, precisely at a time of great difficulty and challenges for the international community in the economic sphere. 

During his address, Moratinos listed the main issues on the international agenda, from the perspective of Spain's foreign policy and in the context of the new stage in the foreign policy of the USA, a country that, the minister claims, has the same outlook as Spain on how to tackle international issues: through dialogue and consensus-seeking. 

Meanwhile, Miquel Valls, the President of the Chamber of Commerce, stressed the Chamber's commitment to encouraging and promoting trade and economic investment between Spain and United States. 

Finally, Narcís Serra, President of the CIDOB Foundation, presented the contents of the 2009 Yearbook, making special mention of the monographic section dedicated to the United States of America. Serra stressed that it was the 20th edition of the Yearbook, a work of reference which has, ever since 1989, systematically monitored the international panorama, year-by-year, and which offers readers key information to help them interpret Spain's foreign policy and international relations.