The minister opened a meeting of the representatives and said a legal challenge against the delegations abroad launched by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs was 'unacceptable'.
The Minister for Foreign Action, Institutional Relations and Transparency, Alfred Bosch, today welcomed the Catalan government’s 12 representatives abroad to their second meeting this year, which is being held in Barcelona. The first meeting took place in June and was headed by the president of the Government of Catalonia, Quim Torra, and Minister Bosch.
 
The aim of the meetings is to coordinate the work of the delegations, which Bosch said was of vital importance: “The work done by our representatives abroad is crucial. […] Following the application of Article 155 [i.e. the suspension of Catalan self-rule], we’ve restored the existing network and are expanding it to reach all the world’s continents, just as we promised.” 
 
The minister also made reference to the latest legal challenge launched by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs against the three new delegations (yet to be opened) in Mexico, Argentina and Tunisia. “It’s unacceptable,” said Bosch. “Global Spain focuses on disparaging the work we do. Our task is to counteract that by telling the truth.” 
 
The minister said: “Our duty is to internationalise Catalonia, to raise its profile throughout the world and make sure everyone has the opportunity to get to know Catalonia and work here. We need to be able to compete globally. This is a necessity for the citizens we represent, and we won’t neglect or abandon this task.”
 
As for the verdicts to be handed down by the Supreme Court in the coming days, the minister called on the representatives to explain “that there are people who have spent two years in preventive detention, accused of violence through charges of rebellion and sedition, when there plainly was none”. 
 
“We’ll continue to take a positive approach and tell people about the reality of Catalonia: a prosperous, dynamic reality, with an economy that’s moving forward,” said Bosch. The minister stressed the importance of explaining that “there’s been a notable increase in foreign investment in recent years, and that Catalonia is a dynamic nation with enormous energy in all areas: culture, sports, trade, academia and tourism.” 
 
Bosch urged the representatives to continue working as they have until now. “We need to do more and more work in more places around the world and make people everywhere more aware of Catalonia and its reality.” 
 
In addition to the minister, the participants in the meeting were the Secretary for Foreign Action and the European Union, Mireia Borrell; the Director-General for Analysis and Strategic Planning of Foreign Action, Oriol Duran; and the 12 representatives: Meritxell Serret (representative to the European Union); Sergi Marcén (UK and Ireland), Marie Kapretz (Germany), Isidre Sala (US and Canada), Luca Bellizzi (Italy), Manuel Manonelles (Switzerland), Daniel Camós (France), Eric Hauck (Balkans), Ewa Adela Cylwik (Baltic countries), Krystyna Schreiber (Central Europe), Francesca Guardiola (Nordic countries) and Rui Reis (Portugal).