Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani will speak today in Madrid at the opening of the ‘Libertas Forum’, organised by the European People’s Party (EPP) as part of the celebrations marking its 50th anniversary.
Now in its first edition, the Forum brings together Heads of Government, Ministers, political leaders and representatives of civil society from Europe and Latin America to discuss global challenges, the defence of the rule of law, cooperation between Europe and Ibero-America, and the freedom and role of Western democracies.
The event will be opened by EPP President Manfred Weber and will bring together over 60 parties from 42 countries across the EU, Latin America and the Caribbean, with speakers including the President of the Spanish People’s Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the Portuguese Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, the newly elected President of Peru, Keiko Fujimori, the Vice President of the Dominican Republic, Raquel Peña, and the Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium, Vincent Van Peteghem.
The event will also be attended by leaders and prominent figures from the democratic opposition movements in Venezuela (María Corina Machado), Cuba (José Daniel Ferrer and Rosa María Payá) and Nicaragua (Juan Sebastián Chamorro).
On the subject of Venezuela, the Minister will reiterate Italy’s solidarity with the people and the support it is providing for the new phase of post-earthquake reconstruction, highlighting the humanitarian aid already sent and the additional funding allocated to assist displaced persons.
This afternoon, Tajani will attend a business forum at the embassy; he will highlight that Latin America is one of the priority areas of the Italian Export Action Plan, with Italian exports to the region having exceeded EUR 20 billion in 2025, and that there are significant opportunities arising from agreements between the EU and various countries in Central and Latin America, including the EU-Mercosur Agreement, which entered into provisional application on 1 May.
