Spain is set to host a crucial meeting on Friday aimed at promoting the "two-state solution" to the Palestinian-Israeli struggle, bringing together ministers from Muslim and European countries, including members of the Arab-Islamic Contact Group for Gaza, which includes prominent nations like Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkiye, according to a statement by the Spanish Foreign Ministry.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is expected to welcome the participants at his official residence before the discussions move to the Foreign Ministry, led by Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares. Additionally, the European Union's foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, will attend the talks, adding the EU's influence to the high-level meeting.

A statement from Borrell's office emphasized that the focus of the gathering would be on bolstering international community engagement concerning peace and security in the region.

"The ministerial gathering will advance the discussion on the need to reinforce the engagement of the international community on peace and security in the Middle East, and the challenge to create an international consensus on a way forward based on the two-state solution," the statement read.

Albares hosted a similar meeting in May, where strategies to advance the resolution were discussed.

Calls for the two-state solution have gained renewed urgency following the outbreak of the ongoing genocide in Gaza on October 7. 

Staunchly pro-Palestine

Spain, under the leadership of Prime Minister Sanchez, has been one of the most vocal critics of the genocide in Gaza. Spain, alongside Ireland and Norway, formally recognized a Palestinian state comprising the West Bank and Gaza Strip on May 28. 

Sanchez has also announced plans for the first-ever bilateral summit between Spain and Palestine, expected to take place by year-end. "Several collaboration agreements between the two states" are anticipated to be signed during the summit.

Even more recently, Madrid, a NATO member, called during the July NATO summit for the West to avoid "double standards" in addressing the Israeli war on Gaza.

During his speech at NATO's 75th-anniversary summit in Washington, Sanchez stressed, "If we are telling our people that we are supporting Ukraine because we are defending the international law, this is the same as what we have to do towards Gaza."