Albares announces in Paris that Spain will host the next Feminist Foreign Policy Conference in 2026

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, speaks at the opening of the IV Ministerial Conference on Feminist Foreign Policies, in Paris

This announcement took place at the opening of the fourth Feminist Diplomacy Conference organised by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which brings together in Paris some 450 participants from 50 states, multilateral organisations, civil society and the field of research to promote diplomacy focused on gender equality, women's rights and global justice, and to which Albares has been invited as a partner state with leadership in this area.

The minister stated that Feminist Foreign Policy "is today one of the priority areas of our country's international projection, recognised in our 2025-2028 Foreign Action Strategy," and indicated that it permeates all areas of Spain's foreign action, from cooperation and peace to development, security, and climate.

In this sense, the minister emphasised some of the actions carried out by Spain, such as the reception and refuge of Afghan women persecuted by the Taliban regime or the promotion of their political participation, through political dialogue platforms such as HearUs, and the provision of services through the network of consulates and embassies to Spanish women who have suffered gender-based violence abroad, which serves hundreds of women each year.

Likewise, Albares indicated that, through the coordination of the Ambassador-at-Large for Feminist Foreign Policy, our country will soon have a new National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security, which will strengthen institutional coordination and civil society participation in this area, and the first Feminist Cooperation Strategy, which will consolidate Spain's commitment to equality also in the area of international development cooperation.

In his opening remarks, Minister Albares linked the attack on feminism to the rise of extremism: "Those who attack democracy also attack feminism and the idea of equality, citizenship and justice on which it is based", and emphasised that "to vindicate and defend feminism today is also to defend democracy".

Parity in the foreign service

The minister stressed the Ministry's commitment to the full participation of women in all areas of public life, which it demonstrates by "moving towards real parity, towards the full, equal and meaningful presence of women in leadership and decision-making positions". As concrete examples of this progress, he referred to the presence of two women at the head of the embassies in Washington and Beijing, in the two major world powers, the increased presence of women in positions of directorate general and secretariats of state, as well as equal promotions in the diplomatic career.

Albares stressed that parity should also be reflected in international organisations, "where there are still glass ceilings", and stressed that "the time has come for the United Nations to have a female Secretary General".

Non official translation