| dc.description | United Nations staff and representatives of Embassies of Argentina, Chile, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Mexico, Nicaragua, Spain, Uruguay, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela celebrated UN Spanish Language Day on 14 May 2024 as part of the UN’s commitment to celebrating diversity and multilateralism.
Addressing the gathering, Ms. Sweta Saxena, Director of the Gender, Poverty, and Social Policy Division at the ECA, said, "With over 500 million native speakers, Spanish is the world's second most-spoken language in terms of the number of native speakers. If we add to that number those with limited proficiency and those who are studying Spanish, the total reaches nearly 600 million, making Spanish the third most-spoken language worldwide. It is the official or co-official language of 21 countries in Africa, Europe, and Latin America."
Spanish language, she said, linked Africa to Europe and the Americas. She added "Here at ECA, as in all entities of the United Nations Secretariat, the celebration of Spanish Language Day is synonymous with the Celebration of Cultural and Linguistic diversity. It also marks the contribution of Spanish to the mandate and the mission of the United Nations and multilateralism in international relations." | en |
