Spain advocates strengthening trade based on multilateral rules and open science

FIBES Conference and Exhibition Centre, Seville

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, during his speech at the roundtable on trade organized at the Seville Conference (Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa)

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, has called for strengthening the multilateral system in international trade and has defended an open, inclusive and accessible science for all during the round table on trade, science and technology held within the framework of the fourth International Conference on Financing for Development of the United Nations.

This event, co-chaired by the Moroccan Minister for Economy and Finance, Nadia Fettah, and the Slovenian Deputy Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Minister of Development, Melita Gabrič, examined issues such as the revitalisation of international trade in the face of increasing tensions and tariffs, and ways to close technological gaps and facilitate access to digital infrastructures.

In his opening speech, the president of the Government of Spain said that tariffs are a brake, and pointed out that, although industrial overcapacity and unfair competition are real challenges, "responding with barriers only leads to collective defeat, because there are no winners in an economy that closes in on itself." Against this background, he proposed strengthening the multilateral system and restoring the central role of the World Trade Organization.

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, along with the Minister for Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration, Elma Saiz, at the Seville Conference on trade | Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

On science, Pedro Sánchez has advocated shared knowledge: "Without technological cooperation, there is no just transformation. Without inclusive innovation, there is no sustainable future. If we continue to lock ourselves in blocks, if we resign ourselves to isolation, we will all lose out." The Spanish proposal is threefold, as the president explained: to promote open science, to do so with criteria of equality and inclusion, and to guarantee equitable access to knowledge.

Non official translation