Madrid, Spain – On a Tuesday stopover in the Spanish capital, Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader engaged in a warm, private closed-door discussion with José María Aznar, Spain’s former head of government, shortly after Abinader’s plane touched down in Madrid. The high-level gathering was hosted at the upscale The Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, and attended by Dominican Foreign Minister Víctor “Ito” Bisonó alongside the two heads of state. The conversation drew on the long-established, amicable personal rapport between Abinader and Aznar, with both leaders prioritizing dialogue on overlapping areas of shared concern, with a particular focus on collaborative frameworks to address pressing cross-border and domestic social challenges facing their respective regions. Aznar, who led Spain as prime minister from 1996 to 2004, currently holds leadership roles as the president of the Foundation for Analysis and Social Studies (FAES) and the chair of the Atlantic Institute of Government (IADG), two prominent policy bodies focused on transatlantic governance and social research. The unpublicized private meeting underscored the enduring informal diplomatic and policy ties between the Dominican Republic and Spanish political leadership, outside of formal state visit protocols.
Abinader meets former Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar in Madrid
