Amid heightened tensions, exacerbated by the rise of the far-right on both sides of the Atlantic, an Ibero-American-style collaborative framework to foster integration, environmental protection, and respect for multilateralism and international law may seem idyllic.

The high-level event in this capital has already revealed some points of contention, such as Argentine President Javier Milei’s deliberate absence from the opening ceremony and the welcome dinner hosted by King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia.

Furthermore, Chilean President Jose Antonio Kast has shown little engagement with the official events of this Europe-Latin America and the Caribbean regional forum, while speeches and remarks from Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz, or the vice presidents of Colombia and El Salvador, align clearly with the far-right.

Nevertheless, this Thursday’s Plenary Session, on the final day of the Summit, aims to address challenges facing the Ibero-American community, such as natural disasters, and incorporate agreements reached during separate meetings on artificial intelligence (AI) and digital agreement, and commitments on managerial matters and cooperation.

Cuba, for instance, used the foreign ministers’ meeting to criticize the intensification of the United States’ unilateralism, and reiterated its condemnation of the economic blockade, tightened by measures contrary to international law.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla warned of “interference in the internal affairs of States… which carries a distinct extraterritorial character, as well as intimidation, even to hinder cooperation and obstruct legitimate commercial relations among sovereign States.”

At the opening of the conference last night, Ibero-American Secretary General Andres Allamand noted that in turbulent times, the solutions lie in “a rules-based multilateral order” and cooperation among countries, and rejected “a world governed by force.”

abo/iff/arc/ft