“Spain, although geographically far away, feels very close to this country and has great admiration for Korea”: Spain envoy
The State Visit of the King of Spain adjourned in 2016 to the Republic of
Korea is likely to be realized hopefully in 2018, according to Spain envoy
Gonzalo Ortiz.
In a diplomatic reception to mark Spain National Day 2017 as well as to celebrate the
67th anniversary of diplomatic relations, held in the JW Mariott Dongdaemun
on Oct. 12th evening, Gonzalo Ortiz spared many parts of his remarks on
affinity with Korea among others.
First of all, he said: “Spain, although geographically far away, feels very
close to this country and has great admiration for Korea who achieved a
continuous and strong economic growth, a fully functioning democracy
(as it was the case seen in the political crisis of the past few months), a
great presence of Korean companies overseas, and also for the sense of
resilience, organization and attention to the quality, that characterizes its people.”
So Korea and Spain are two countries that are getting closer together,
Ortiz diagnosed.
In terms of bilateral relations, the two nations have a lot of public
diplomacy elements according to him, such as the annual Forum of
civil societies, in cooperation with the Korea Foundation, the close
relationship with the 16 Korean universities with Spanish department,
strong tourism (already in 2017 Korean tourists will reach the 400,000
visitors), the new Chamber of Commerce of Spain in Korea, and since
August 2017 the appointment of a new and dynamic Honorary Consul
of Spain in Busan etc., to name just a few.
On economic front,. Spain Amb. pointed out that the Spanish economy
is currently very open (it is the 5th country in the world due to its degree
of internationalization), adding exports of goods and services are
35.3% of country's GDP.
At present Spain has an estimated income of 23,970 euros per capita.
Because of the past crisis, the Spanish government undertook a series
of structural reforms aimed, among other objectives, at fiscal
consolidation and the reorganization of the financial system.
According to Gonzalo Ortiz, Spain is assessed to produce excellent
goods and services in traditional sectors such as tourism, gastronomy
and food industry, textiles and clothing, as well as modern sectors,
incorporating R & D such as biotechnology, communications,
renewable energy, banking and the automotive industry. Another
remarkable sector is transportation and infrastructure (third country in
the world in its network of high-speed trains).
Touching upon the fact that Spain counts on the confidence of the
markets, Spain envoy said: “The visitors are pleased by the hospitality
and the climate, as well as the relative low cost of living. Education and
healthcare are free and of high quality. In addition Spain is very generous
with immigrants - workers, pensioners - who have been attracted by
its security and the rule of law, and the extraordinary architecture that
like Roman, Arab, Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque or Neoclassical
monuments disseminated in our cities.”