"The United States and Spain are clearly committed to the fight against Jihadi terrorism", says María Dolores de Cospedal

María Dolores de Cospedal also highlighted the two countries' close collaboration in the area of defence "for more than six decades", which represents a strategic relationship between them.

The meeting was held at the request of the US Administration. It is the first official encounter between the two ministers since María Dolores de Cospedal and James Mattis coincided in Brussels at the meeting of NATO Defence ministers in February.

The Spanish minister further noted that "the transatlantic alliance and the link between Europe and the United States should be strengthened" and "we should move forward in common goals, in the fight against terrorism and against the new platforms attacking our way of life".

María Dolores de Cospedal recalled that "we need to remain members of multinational organisations like NATO, and in our case also strengthen the security and defence of Europe, which is Spain's aim. Because a stronger Europe, and a stronger security and defence policy, mean a more robust and more important NATO and one that is better prepared to face the challenges we have ahead of us".

With respect to State borders and multinational organisations, the minister explained that "there are other kinds of borders, not only physical, such as the difference in per capita income between Spain and our neighbours to the south. We are the only country in the EU that has a physical border with Africa. This gap is undoubtedly one of the most important challenges ahead of us".

For all these reasons, the minister noted that "our investment in defence must be maintained and we have to comply with this commitment, which is very important for our country". In this respect, María Dolores de Cospedal expressed to Secretary James Mattis the pledge given by the President of the Government, Mariano Rajoy, to comply with the 2% target within a decade in defensa spending, in accordance with our commitment as a member state of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

As her first task in the morning, María Dolores de Cospedal visited the national cemetery in Arlington, where she participated in a tribute to the fallen and attended the ceremony of the changing of the guard. She then went to the Pentagon, the headquarters of the United States Department of Defence, where she met with the Secretary of Defence, James Mattis.