• Monarchy The gesture of the Queen with the sheikha, her earrings, the menu... all the details of the gala dinner

  • Visits This is the sheikha who has chosen (of his three wives) the emir of Qatar to visit the Kings

"Felipe VI is doing a public service that brings a lot of added value to our country."

It was highlighted on Thursday by the First Vice President of the Government and Minister of Economy, Nadia Calviño.

Although he thus tried to establish differences between the current King and his father, Don Juan Carlos, who was about to fly from Abu Dhabi to Galicia,

the recognition of Don Felipe took on a special dimension

after the state visit this week of the Emir of Qatar.

And it is that Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, the current sovereign of the small Arab state that has the greatest purchasing power in the world

thanks to its oil reserves but above all because it swims in gas

- is the second largest exporter of this hydrocarbon, only behind from the United States - has left us with the promise that he will invest

no less than 4,720 million euros in our country in the coming years.

A dizzying amount that far exceeds the 3,000 million committed by the father of the current emir, Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani, when he also starred in a state visit to Spain in 2011, then invited by Don Juan Carlos and Doña Sofía.

It would not respond to the reality of how bilateral relations work in the society of nations to attribute all the success of these beneficial visits to the respective tenants of Zarzuela.

But what remains true is that Spain has been greatly favored since the restoration of the Monarchy in 1975, both in economic terms and in other geopolitical matters, due to

the excellent relations that the Bourbons have cultivated with many dynasties,

and especially with those of the entire Middle East.

In recent years, countless information has been published on the opaque economic affairs of Don Juan Carlos, almost always linked to the Gulf Petromonarchies.

And this is not the space to return to them.

But

the enormous benefits of good harmony between royal families

have not been underlined too much, which opens extraordinary doors and windows of opportunity, as big businessmen admit without going any further when they value the reigns of Juan Carlos I so much. Like your son's current one.

DIFFERENCES OF REIGNS

Felipe VI, in all honesty, has not cultivated friendship with Arab monarchs with as much intensity as his predecessor.

On the one hand, this is a consequence of the great difference in character.

But, above all, our Head of State has weighed excessively, and in a way that is as unfair as it is detrimental to general interests, the shadows over the old relationships of the now Emeritus.

Don Felipe has been forced

since his proclamation to always tread firmly.

And the demagoguery that a good part of the political class has carried out for sectarian interests in relations with the dynasties we are talking about has led to them being much colder today than just a few years ago.

The instructions since Pedro Sánchez arrived at La Moncloa have also cut the King's wings.

The King and Queen with the Emir and the Sheikha of Qatar before the gala dinner that the Spanish Moncarcas offered themGTRES

While Suárez and Felipe González, above all, but also Aznar, Zapatero and Rajoy, supported the Crown approaching the Arab sovereigns and that the authentic friendly relations of Don Juan Carlos with many princes of the Middle East were well used in the strategies of our foreign policy, Sánchez has ensured that Don Felipe's radius of action does not go beyond the most institutional corsets, with none including the King, who could

play a much more important role in our international relations.

SAINETE IN ABU DHABI

Along these lines, last February, Pedro Sánchez went to the United Arab Emirates to attend the Dubai Expo and, incidentally, meet in Abu Dhabi with the strong man of the federation, in an attempt to reach trade agreements.

The absence of Felipe VI did not go unnoticed by anyone in an appointment that over the months has brought almost all European kings and kings from other regions to Dubai.

It was a monumental mistake, a

botched fix between Moncloa and Zarzuela with which they wanted to avoid the embarrassing situation

that the Monarch had to meet his father there.

But, things of fate, the death of Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, emir of Abu Dhabi and president of the Emirates, forced Don Felipe days ago, now with no alternative, to travel to this nation to show his condolences to his successor.

Cultivating the best relations with the top leaders of these Petromonarchies is the obligation of every Western Head of State, more so in a context of reconfiguration of the global geopolitical board such as the one that is taking place.

But kings like Felipe VI have the advantage over the presidents of any republic that Arab sovereigns have a predilection for strengthening ties with European royalty.

They know it well for example in the United Kingdom.

The Bourbons have close ties with the House of Saud - the dynasty of Saudi Arabia - since the times when Don Juan Carlos was still Prince of Spain.

At that time, his relationship with other monarchs of the region, such as the Shah of Persia, was also strong.

It would not be until his accession to the throne in 1975

when he turned to rapprochement with the royal families of Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman or the United Arab Emirates,

without forgetting the great friendship of our dynasty with the Jordanian or Moroccan.

What little has to do is the fraternity between Juan Carlos I and Hasán II with the relationship between Felipe VI and the current Alaouí king.

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