The Chief of Defence opens the seventh edition of the ‘Geopolitical Trends’ summer course

• The conference is organised by the Spanish Institute for Strategic Studies

The Chief of Defence (JEMAD), Admiral Teodoro E. López Calderón, today opened the ‘Geopolitical Trends’ course in El Escorial, entitled this year ‘The Geopolitics of Spanish-American Relations: 250 Years After Spanish Aid’

During his speech, the Spanish CHOD highlighted the decisive role Spain played in the founding of the United States, a fact unknown to many. Admiral López Calderón also emphasised that, on the military front, relations between Spain and the United States must be one of the cornerstones of our defence policy.

The course, which will be held in the Paraninfo hall at the Alfonso XII School in El Escorial until Friday 3 July, will feature, amongst others, the director of CNDS, Lieutenant General Miguel Ballenilla y García de la Gamarra; Major General Antonio Esteban López; and diplomats such as Javier Rupérez Rubio and Santiago Cabanas Ansorena; as well as other experts and analysts specialising in geopolitics and strategy.

Over the course of these sessions, the various scenarios shaping the current international balance of power will be addressed, as well as Spain’s role as a Euro-Atlantic bridge.

The course aims to provide a strategic review of how Spain’s historical support, funding and logistics during the American War of Independence set a precedent for today’s shared security.