The State Secretary for Global Spain, Manuel Muñiz, held his first working meeting this afternoon with the new President of the Royal Academy of Gastronomy​ (Spanish acronym: RAG), Lourdes Plana, which sought to lay the foundations for coordination and joint procedures through which Global Spain and the Royal Academy of Gastronomy will develop their joint strategy for international projection.

This meeting is framed within the recent signing of a partnership agreement through which the two entities have undertaken to jointly boost the reputation and prestige of Spain’s image.

For the State secretary, Manuel Muñiz, “gastronomy is an essential part of Spanish culture, a reflection of our diversity and identity, and is present in both the best restaurants in the world and in our homes”. In this regard, he stressed that “Spanish gastronomy is a wonderful ambassador and hugely contributes to Spain’s positive international image”.

Lourdes Plana, elected as the new President of the RAG on 15 September, stated that “this agreement is fundamental since collaboration with Global Spain will help our gastronomy to become better known throughout the world. And she pointed out that “Spanish gastronomy is an international benchmark, and we must harness this potential to strengthen our image abroad”.

Spanish gastronomy is an asset in the construction of Spain’s international image, and hence Global Spain has undertaken to foster the coordination of its international spread among the different parties involved in Spain’s international reputation – public authorities, the business sector and civil society – and in its projection through the network of embassies and consulates of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation.

The two bodies will support each other at official public events and in the spread of their actions and campaigns through the social media, which will also focus on healthy food, gastronomy education and the sustainability goals of the 2030 Agenda.

Spanish cuisine has risen to the forefront of global excellence in recent years, which has very positively influenced Spain’s international image and other sectors, such as tourism. Spain was recently ranked as the country with the highest representation on The Best Chef Awards list of the 100 best chefs in the world, with 14 Spanish chefs, ahead of France, Italy and the United Kingdom. In 2019, it also headed up The World’s 50 Best Restaurants as the country with the largest number of restaurants on the list.