The President of the Government is the first Spaniard to attend as a special guest at the National Prayer Breakfast.
Previous special guests invited to this event have been personalities such as the British former Prime Minister Tony Blair; the Pakistani leader Benazir Bhutto, the first woman to hold the position of Prime Minister in a Muslim country; the singer from the Irish Group U2, Bono, known for his activities in support of Africa; Mother Teresa of Calcutta after having received the Nobel Peace Prize; and the King of Jordan.
Thus, it is about international personalities who are outstanding representatives from different political, religious and cultural traditions, but who are strongly linked to the ideas of dialogue and integration.
Start of the political year
The National Prayer Breakfast opens the political year in the USA each year following the Christmas recess and it is held on the first Thursday in February.
Its roots are such that it has been held every year in Washington since 1953 when all the USA Presidents, a large part of the Government, Congress and the Senate and the most important players in political, financial, cultural and social life of the United States have attended.
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero gave a short speech in the Washington Hilton Hotel, where the event was held, before some 3,500 people, representing the élite of North American politics.
Meeting with business people
The President of the Government also took part in a lunch-talk at mid-day in the US Chamber of Commerce, which Spanish business people also attended.
The US Chamber of Commerce was created in 1908 and is the largest federation of business associations in the United States and in fact the world, with more than three million members.
President Rodríguez Zapatero then gave a speech to the Atlantic Council, a think tank specialised in security and defence matters. He was presented by James Jones, National Security Advisor.
The speech “EU-USA Strategic Association” dealt with transatlantic relations and the vocation to share responsibilities to meet the principal challenges that are raised on the international agenda.
The President’s address was open to the public and preceded a dinner attended by notable personalities from North American public life, amongst whom are parliamentarians, business people and government representatives.
