Raul Piña

Updated Monday, April 1, 2024-14:57

  • Economy The State makes its entry into Telefónica effective and buys 3% of the capital

  • Opinion The Government is already taking 500 million from the Budget to enter Telefónica and the bank is betting that it will pay more than the Saudis

Pedro Sánchez

begins a tour of the Middle East this week in which he will visit

Jordan

,

Saudi Arabia

and

Qatar

. A trip that La Moncloa focuses on its geostrategic importance due to the situation in Gaza. The President of the Government will meet with the main officials of these countries, to whom he will convey face to face his commitment because the solution to the conflict involves the recognition of the Palestinian state and that Arab countries such as Arabia itself recognize the state of Israel. . The trip also has an important economic drift, with a view to the multimillion-dollar sovereign funds of Arabia and Qatar increasing their investments in Spain. The Government has no intention or approach of putting on the table the Saudi entry into the shareholding of

Telefónica

. According to government sources, the matter is not on the agenda, but it will be discussed if the Saudi authorities bring it up.

The objective that La Moncloa has set with this trip is that Sánchez can discuss the conflict between Israel and Hamas with the leaders of these countries, defend a ceasefire and advocate for a two-state solution. To do this, in Amman he will meet with the Jordanian king,

Abdullah II

; in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) with the crown prince and strong man of the country,

Mohamed bin Salmán

; and in Doha with the Qatari emir,

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

.

With national political news marked this week by the composition of the investigation commissions on the purchase of masks during the pandemic, and which PSOE and PP use as a throwing weapon and political ammunition, the President of the Government continues to reaffirm his international profile with a visit to three countries that play an important role in resolving the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Spain has made the political decision to

recognize the Palestinian state

, but it is a matter of timing. Government sources explain that in the coming days there will be movements within the United Nations and that it is not a matter of "recognizing for the sake of recognizing" the Palestinian state, but that the "propitious conditions" have to be met for it to have the greater impact and that movement "be a catalyst for a solution.

In this framework, and with the purpose of giving visibility to the humanitarian drama that arises from the conflict and the need to address a solution now, Sánchez will visit the

Jabal el Hussein

Palestinian refugee camp in Amman , which currently houses almost 30,000. refugees. A camp managed by the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (

UNRWA

). Precisely a month ago, Spain announced that it will make a new voluntary contribution of 20 million to UNRWA.

Behind this important geopolitical axis is also the situation of Human Rights in a country like Saudi Arabia, which is

still far from meeting the required standards

. In this regard, the Government recognizes that there are differences and that this matter is a "cross-cutting priority" for the Executive, but that the "fundamental focus" is the Gaza crisis and that the issue of Human Rights is already channeled through different channels, such as through the EU or in some bilateral meetings that may have been held on other occasions.

This position that "the focus" is on the conflict in Gaza is also valid on the Telefónica issue, specifically the Saudi entry into the shareholding through Saudi Telecom Company (STC), with the aim of acquiring 9.9 %. At La Moncloa

they do not consider it a priority issue

, according to government sources. Yes, they are prepared to talk about it if the Saudi authorities consider it necessary to bring it up in the meetings that take place, but it will not be a Spanish initiative to make it one of the core issues.

The Government remembers that the announcement of the entry occurred in the month of September and that more than six months have passed, enough time, they consider, to have conveyed to the pertinent Saudi authorities the positions, comments or whatever they considered necessary. . And what had to be moved has already been done. At La Moncloa they prefer to focus on the fact that the Government has decided to become a shareholder in the company to provide stability to the shareholders, they explain, and to "guarantee the Spanishness" of the company and medium and long-term investments, as well as "strategic autonomy" in defense and security programs.

Just a week ago, the State Society of Industrial Participations (SEPI) - dependent on the Ministry of Finance - notified the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) of the acquisition of a Telefónica share package equivalent to 3% of the company's share capital. company.