His Majesty the King presided today, October 1st, over the opening session of the XII Ibero-American Parliamentary Forum, taking place in Madrid on October 1st and 2nd, gathering parliamentary representatives from Ibero-American countries.
The inaugural session was held at 10:00 AM in the Plenary Hall of the Congress. First, the president of the Lower House, Francina Armengol, took the floor, followed by interventions from the Ibero-American Secretary General, Andrés Allamand; the Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares; and the President of the Senate of Spain, Pedro Rollán. The inauguration concluded with the address by His Majesty the King.
Subsequently, the Forum hosted keynote lectures on major current challenges for democracies. Nuria Oliver, director of the ELLIS Alicante Foundation, spoke on the impact of artificial intelligence. Philosopher and essayist Daniel Innerarity analyzed current threats to democracy, such as political fragmentation, polarization, disinformation, and populism. The president of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Ruslan Stefanchuk, addressed hybrid threats and disinformation in the context of armed conflict.
Additionally, professor Tània Verge i Mestre spoke on gender equality gaps, and the president of the Assembly of the Republic of Portugal, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, explained the importance of parliamentary diplomacy in facing current geopolitical challenges.
Following this, the working sessions moved to the Senate and were structured around four main areas: the impact of artificial intelligence and the adaptation of Congresses; threats to democracy arising from fragmentation, polarization, disinformation, and populism; gender equality and closing gaps; and the validity and effectiveness of parliamentary diplomacy and cooperation in the Ibero-American sphere.
On Friday, October 2nd, starting at 10:00 AM, the Forum will continue at the Palace of the Congress with a plenary session presenting the conclusions from the four working sessions, featuring interventions from presidents and delegation heads.
The meeting will conclude with a closing session, starting at 12:30 PM, with addresses by the Ibero-American Secretary General, Andrés Allamand; the Secretary of State for Ibero-America and the Caribbean and Spaniards Abroad, Susana Sumelzo; the President of the Senate, Pedro Rollán; and the President of the Congress, Francina Armengol.
The Forum will conclude with the adoption of the conclusions of the XII Ibero-American Parliamentary Forum. The inauguration and closing sessions of the XII Ibero-American Parliamentary Forum could be followed live, and high-quality images will be available for download in the Photo News section of the Congress website.
