Secretary Antony J. Blinken and Secretary of State José Manuel Albares at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on the Manipulation of Foreign Information

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, good morning everyone. First of all, it is a great pleasure to have my friend José Manuel here in Washington. In fact, we have worked so closely together over the last few years, and in fact when Spain hosted the NATO summit – of course, under the leadership of José Manuel, a great and important NATO summit. I’m looking for inspiration and advice from my friend as we prepare to host the NATO Summit here in Washington.

We’re going to sign a Memorandum of Understanding in a few minutes, which I’ll talk about briefly, but first let me say the great importance we attach to the partnership between the United States and Spain on so many different issues that we are working to of our people – both the Spanish and the Americans. We are, of course, the strongest of the NATO allies. We work together in support of Ukraine and against continued Russian aggression against Ukraine. We work for peace in the Middle East. We face some of the challenges China poses together. And Spain and the United States and many other partners are also working to meet many of the needs of global majority countries around the world.

Today we sign an important MOU on manipulation of foreign information. And this speaks to something that is a huge challenge, not just for both of our countries, but for democracies around the world. Propaganda, disinformation, information manipulation – these are threats to national security for our countries as well as many others. Opponents seek to use information and disinformation, disinformation, to create or exploit existing divisions, both within and between our countries. They are trying to compromise the integrity of the elections. And all this undermines public confidence, including in our institutions. This use of disinformation sows cynicism and suspicion, and it is imperative that we work together to create and develop more resilient information systems and a more resilient information environment.

That’s what this MOU is about. That’s what the framework we’ve put in place is all about, and now more than a dozen countries are participating. It helps us work together to deal more effectively with the challenge of misinformation and disinformation, strengthening our countries’ ability to detect and act. on the use of disinformation and disinformation; developing and managing strategies; supporting journalists and civil society who are on the front lines of this struggle; and strengthening multilateral cooperation, because the more we can join forces to share information and share best practices, the more effective we will be.

I am therefore looking forward to signing this memorandum together with José Manuel and then getting to work on its implementation. But first, Mr. Minister of Foreign Affairs, it is yours to speak.

MINISTER OF FOREIGN ALBARES: Thank you, Tony, for having me here today, for your hospitality and your friendship. Spain and the United States are friends and allies in today’s very complex world. We are at a crucial moment in our Euro-Atlantic relationship and that is why it is so important that we, as Europe’s natural ally, the United States, strengthen ties as we look forward to the NATO summit here in July. We stand together in support of Ukraine in the face of unjustified Russian aggression, and I want to commend all the work that you personally, Tony and the Biden administration, have done to provide Ukraine with a new financial aid package at a very crucial way. moment. Spain has just concluded negotiations with Ukraine on our own bilateral security obligations, and we will stick together as long as necessary.

As we look to the summit, we want to promote peace in Ukraine, just as we want to promote peace in the Middle East. We therefore call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release and unconditional release of all hostages, and the access of unhindered aid to the Gaza Strip. We want to bring peace to Gaza and the entire Middle East.

Together we have a common progressive agenda that goes from multilateralism to gender equality and to LGTBIQ rights, and we will promote it together, Spain and the United States. We have working groups that are very important for progress in the Sahel and for common ground and stability in both regions of Central America. And we are just going to sign an agreement on this information, in which we will all share our experiences and we will fight any attempt to interfere in the elections. We will have European Parliament elections in Europe very soon, and presidential elections will take place here. And we want to make a special effort to prevent disinformation in Spanish languages.

So again, Tony, thank you very much, and I especially want to commend all the work that you are personally doing with Qatar and Egypt to bring peace to the Middle East.

MODERATOR: Secretary Blinken and Secretary of State Albares sign a memorandum of understanding to develop a shared understanding of the threat posed by manipulation of foreign information. It also aligns our efforts along five mutually reinforcing key action areas that strengthen democratic societies and ensure a robust, resilient and evidence-based information environment.

(The memorandum has been signed.)