The National Day of Spain was celebrated in Ljubljana on the evening of October 14, 2025, with a reception organized by the Embassy of Spain in Slovenia. The Ljubljana celebration gathered diplomats, officials, and guests to honor the date marking a historic event in 1492 — the expedition led by Cristóbal Colón (Christopher Columbus) that reached the shores of what is now America, an event that shaped world history and marked the beginning of modern Spain.
During the reception at the Embassy of Spain, Ambassador Javier Herrera highlighted the historical meaning of October 12 and the strong ties between Spain and Slovenia.
H.E. Javier Herrera’s Address on The National Day of Spain: A Call for Unity, Peace, and Friendship
October 12, which is the actual date of the National Day of Spain, refers to a major event that occurred in 1492, more than 500 years ago, and that would change World History.
October 12, 1492, is the date when an expedition, mandated by the Spanish Crown and led by an intrepid navigator named Cristóbal Colón, reached the shores of what we refer to today as America. This is the initial moment of what we call Hispanity, or Spanish hood, the strong bond that links all the Spanish-speaking countries around the world.
Simultaneously, 1492 is also the year when all the different kingdoms coexisting until then in the Hispanic part of the Iberian Peninsula unified and gave birth to the Spanish Nation.
These 500 years have been of paramount importance for our continent, as the end of the 15th century marks, for historians, the starting point of the Modern Age, and the emergence of Europe as a continent that will produce some of the artistic, cultural and intellectual movements that have shaped the world of today.
But if our continent has been the protagonist of some of the most brilliant pages in History books, we cannot hide the fact that it has also written some of the most dramatic ones.
These culminated in the two World Wars, which were followed by the birth of a new international order, whose main aim was to prevent those past episodes of confrontation from happening again.
Unfortunately, since the beginning of the 21st century, we have been witnessing a series of dramatic events that remind us of those dark periods.
Let me just briefly refer to two of them that presently shake our daily lives.
On the one hand, the war in Ukraine, where the Spanish position, in line with all our partners in the EU and NATO, is very well represented by the words that President Nataša Pirs Músar used last month at the inauguration of the Bled Strategic Forum: no to the aggression, no to the alteration of international borders by the use of force, and no to the violation of international law.
On the other hand, over the last two years, we have been witnessing in the Gaza Strip an unspeakable level of hatred and destruction that severely contradict all our values and principles. The attacks that occurred on October 7, 2023, showed us the cruelty of the terrorist movement that committed those horrendous crimes. And at that time, we all expressed our sympathy and solidarity with the people of Israel, and with all the Jewish people around the world.
But the retaliation executed by the Government of Israel is not acceptable, as it has gone far beyond the principle of proportionality in the response that international and humanitarian law demand.
We are now very hopeful that the Peace Plan recently agreed upon, and the release of hostages that we very much celebrate, will result in a permanent ceasefire and will put an end to the extreme suffering that people in Gaza have been enduring.
Last May 29, Prime Minister Robert Golob visited Madrid and met with the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez.
I could personally witness the excellent level of friendship and understanding between our two governments.
Spain and Slovenia share a common position on the most important issues present in today’s international scenario. Would it be the above-mentioned conflicts, or when talking about the EU enlargement to the Western Balkans, or the transatlantic relations. And we are also very much on the same page in relation to other relevant matters, such as the fight against climate change, social equality, competitiveness, our common security…. and many others.
And this, not only through our common membership in the EU, NATO, United Nations, or other global organizations, but also through our cooperation in regional fora, particularly those in the Mediterranean area, like the Union for the Mediterranean or the MED9.
In this regard, I want to commend the Government of Slovenia for its excellent Presidency of MED9, the group of 9 EU Mediterranean countries that has become a forum for intense cooperation along our common sea.
In this regard, I want to commend the Government of Slovenia for its excellent Presidency of MED9, the group of 9 EU Mediterranean countries that has become a forum for intense cooperation along our common sea. Next Monday, MED9 will hold its most important event, when the Summit of Heads of State and Government will take place in Portorož. All the leaders of the 9 countries will be there, and the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership will be strengthened
Definitely, the dynamism and quality of Slovenian democracy, together with the positive involvement that its government, and the whole civil society, show in the main issues that we have to deal with, both locally and in the international scenario, make Slovenia, despite its small size, a highly respected and valued partner in today’s global world.
The balance of more than 3 decades of diplomatic relations between Spain and Slovenia shows the excellent level of friendship and cooperation that exists between our two countries.
Our two countries are democratic, progressive, and social states, committed to peace, freedom, justice, and welfare for all.
And this is so because we agree on the essentials: Our two countries are democratic, progressive, and social states, which share their commitment to the rule of law, peace, freedom, justice, and welfare for all.
And we both have the will to enhance our relationship at all levels.
In the economic and commercial sphere, although there is still great room for improvement, our mutual exchanges are experiencing a very positive trend.
Spanish companies have a growing presence in strategic sectors of the Slovenian economy, like energy, infrastructure, the automotive industry or tourism. On the other hand, Slovenian products like machinery and industrial components, as well as pharmaceutical products, are broadly present today in the Spanish market.
Also, in the cultural and academic fields, figures show a growing mutual interest.
Through the Erasmus+ Program alone, more than 1,000 Slovenian students went to Spain last year. And a similar figure of Spanish students and academics came to Slovenia.
And if we speak about tourism, 100,000 Spanish tourists visited Slovenia last year, and quite the same number of Slovenes traveled to Spain over the same period.
Language, literature, and art are also powerful tools to get to know each other better. In the course of the last few years, we have observed a growing interest in the Spanish language and culture in Slovenia. The reopening of our main cultural institution, Instituto Cervantes, in Ljubljana, shows the will to increase our presence in these fields.
The traditional Slovenian saying about ‘španska vas’ no longer applies — Spain and Slovenia know each other well today.
All these data allow me to say that, clearly, the traditional Slovenian saying that refers to španska vas as something unfamiliar is not valid anymore.
Let me quote the great poet France Prešeren: edinost, sreča, sprava — unity, happiness, reconciliation — values we both cherish.
And for my final words, let me quote the great poet France Prešeren when he wrote edinost, sreča, sprava. Those are universal values that constitute a legacy shared by our two countries
