Foreign Minister Eli Cohen held talks in the Iberian Peninsula Kingdom, marking the first such visit in more than a decade.
By Erin Viner
The trip comes just ahead of Spain‘s assumption of its role as President of the European Union (EU), as well as continuation of the political campaign against Iran’s nuclear program.
Minster Cohen was hosted by his Spanish counterpart, José Manuel Albares Bueno.
According to a statement TV7 obtained from the Israeli Ministry of Affairs (MFA), the two “agreed to form a united front in the fight to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.”
“I thank Minister Albers for his decisive position and his support in the fight to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Europe now understands more and more the danger of the Iranian reign of terror, and I told the Foreign Minister that we must form a broad and determined front against them, which includes economic and political sanctions at the same time as presenting a military option,” said Foreign Minister Cohen.
They also agreed to bolster security cooperation between the countries, including the advancement of a €300 million euro ($329.34 million) security deal. Details of the agreement were not disclosed.
Other important topics on the agenda included strategies to strengthen relations between Israel and the EU – and Spain in particular, in the fields of cyber, fintech and more.
Bilateral trade between Israel and Spain in the trade, technology and innovation sectors reached €3.28 billion ($3.6 billion) last year.
Regarding the Palestinian conflict, “Minister Cohen made it clear to his colleague that Israel is not opposed to humanitarian aid to the Palestinians but is strongly opposed to the transfer of funds to entities that encourage incitement and terrorism,” said the MFA.
Madrid’s top diplomat thanked his Jerusalem counterpart for their shared warm relationship, and expressed his desire to visit Israel in the near future.