Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB)

About:

An international support organisation for 22 countries that make up the Ibero-American community: the 19 Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries in Latin America and those of the Iberian Peninsula, Spain, Portugal and Andorra. We support the organisation of the Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, we implement its mandates and we drive Ibero-American Cooperation in the areas of education, social cohesion and culture. We are the only official space for convergence, work, supervision and agreements in the Ibero-American region that brings together countries on both sides of the Atlantic.

Main Contribution:

We contribute to strengthening a well-established space for Ibero-American dialogue. We are an international organisation responsible for driving the Summits’ decision mandates in the areas of social, cultural and knowledge cohesion and innovation for the benefit of the Ibero-American Community.

How did it arise?

The Ibero-American Secretariat General was created in the year 2003 with the aim of offering permanent support for the 22 member countries that participate in the Ibero-American Conferences and Summits year after year.

Prior to the emergence of the Ibero-American Secretariat General, the Ibero-American countries used to meet and reach agreements but the creation of the Ibero-American Secretariat General served to provide in-depth and specific monitoring of these accords

The Ibero-American Conference’s international profile

Since the creation of the Ibero-American Secretariat General, our priorities with respect to our mandate of contributing to strengthening the Ibero-American Community and raising its international profile have been clearly set.

Along these lines, we have defined our role

• at the international body level: as Observers of the United Nations Organisation and its specialised bodies
• at the regional level: as Observers of the European Union
• at the sub-regional level: we prioritise relations with the organisations of the intra-Latin American area and with any bodies that can make significant contributions.

Furthermore, the Ibero-American Conference has Associate Observers (States) and Consultative Observers (International Organisations) whose presence serves to promote a closer tie with other members of the international community and thus open Ibero-America up to linguistically and culturally-related countries and areas.