Vienna. On this occassion Mme. Ambassador Mejía invited selected Austrian think tanks to an exchange of views at the Embassy in Vienna. IRE Board of Trustees member Andreas Kiefer, representing IRE Chairman Franz Schausberger, welcomed the very substantial priorities and, above all, the focus on multilateralism at the global and European levels—that is, the United Nations, the Council of Europe, and the European Union—to address the major challenges ahead, especially for democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.

Andreas Kiefer described the Spanish government's commitment to a genuine multilevel governance approach, also in foreign policy, as particularly important, a commitment that is reiterated in the strategy. For example, it states that foreign policy encompasses all branches of government, public institutions, civil society, and Spanish citizens abroad. "We will therefore further improve coordination with all stakeholders and enable them to contribute their expertise and insights to the development of a broad, inclusive foreign policy," the strategy paper states.

Spanish delegations at UN conferences on the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, for example, are composed of national and regional ministers and mayors and are already realizing this goal.

You find the Spanish Foreign Policy Strategy >>> here