Chinese President Xi Jinping will not attend, and he has appointed the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Sun Yili, as a presidential delegate.

by Xiomara Alfaro
May 28, 2024 – at 17:15

King Felipe VI of Spain and Latin American presidents have confirmed their arrival in El Salvador to attend the inauguration of Nayib Bukele, an event that will take place on June 1 in the historic center of San Salvador.

The Spanish Royal House stated, through a statement, that the king will travel to El Salvador on Saturday to attend the official inauguration ceremony.

“Don Felipe will travel to San Salvador to attend the inauguration of the President-elect, Nayib Bukele, who on June 1, 2019 became the 46th President of the Republic, succeeding Salvador Sánchez Cerén for a single term of five years, and became 37 years old,” the message read. He is the youngest elected president to obtain a second term after obtaining a majority in the elections held on Sunday, February 4, 2024.

This is the first trip made by His Majesty the King to El Salvador since his appointment to his position. His last arrival was in 2014 as prince when he was in the country to succeed Salvador Sanchez Ceren.

Other leaders who confirmed their attendance include the President of Paraguay, Santiago Peña, as confirmed by Paraguay's Foreign Minister, Rubén Ramírez, in a press conference.

“(…) On May 31, we will leave for El Salvador, to San Salvador, to attend the inauguration of President Bukele,” he said.

Read also: Special envoy from Xi Jinping He will attend Bukele's inauguration in El Salvador

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Argentine President Javier Miley will also arrive from South America, government spokesman Manuel Adorni confirmed on Monday.

According to the government statement, Miley is expected to arrive in the country on May 31 at 3 p.m., coming from the United States, where he will meet with businessmen in the technology sector this week.

Miley's arrival at the inauguration was one of her first known visits last week. Last February, the two leaders participated in the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), considered the most important conservative conference in the United States, which was attended by activists and elected officials from other countries. As announced by the presidency of El Salvador Details of the conversations held by the two presidents in the previous months.

China, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic are sending a delegate

On Tuesday, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the arrival of Culture and Tourism Minister Sun Yili to the country as a special envoy of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Xi and Bukele have maintained a close political relationship since 2019 when the El Salvadoran president, in his first term, visited the Asian country with a six-month diplomatic agenda that led to “enormous and unrecoverable cooperation” for El Salvador, according to official communication.

The other president who will not attend, but has appointed a delegate, is the Dominican Republic. President Louis Abi Nader appointed Minister of Presidential Affairs Joel Santos Echavarria to head his country's delegation.

It was reported through a statement that this decision confirms the government’s interest in maintaining and strengthening bilateral relations between the Dominican Republic and El Salvador, as well as the two countries’ commitment to regional cooperation and mutual development.

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“Minister Santos Echavarría will bring with him the best wishes of President Abinader and the Dominican people to President Bukele and the Salvadoran people in this important event,” the message read.

Guatemala's Bernardo Arevalo also delegated his Foreign Minister, Carlos Ramiro Martinez, to attend Bukele's inauguration, according to a local media report.

Foreign Minister Martinez indicated that Arevalo will travel this weekend to the United States, where he will meet with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Antonio Guterres.

From Honduras, there is still no official confirmation of the arrival of President Xiomara Castro. “This is being determined,” Foreign Minister Eduardo Enrique Reyna told El Heraldo newspaper.

He added that the president has become incapacitated and “is expected to make a full recovery, but it is very likely that she will (attend).”