As part of the inauguration of the University of La Romana (UNIROMANA), an educational project integrated into the Ibero-American University Foundation Network (FUNIBER) with the support of the European University of the Atlantic (UNEATLANTICO), a symbolic ceremony was held to name the new street ‘Boulevard Rey Felipe VI’, which connects directly to the facilities of the first phase of this new university campus. This name was granted by the La Romana City Council to FUNIBER and UNIROMANA, who proposed this distinction in recognition of the excellent bilateral relations between Spain and the Dominican Republic, the affection that His Majesty has shown to the Dominican people during his various official visits, and in consideration of UNIROMANA, a Dominican-Spanish venture within the Ibero-American framework of knowledge and higher education.
The ceremony, held around the monolith erected in honour of the King of Spain, took place on 6 May, prior to the official inauguration of the university campus, and was attended by leading academics, diplomats and state authorities. The ceremony was attended by His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain and the President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, together with Antonio Pérez-Hernández y Torra, Spanish Ambassador to the Dominican Republic; Santos Gracia Villar, President of FUNIBER; Franklin García Fermín, Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology; Eduardo Kery, Mayor of La Romana; Ivelisse Méndez, Governor of the Province of La Romana; Jacqueline Fernández Brito, Member of Parliament and former Governor; Manuel Olmedo, Secretary of State for Justice; Frigdiano Álvaro Durántez Prados, Director of Institutional Relations at FUNIBER; and representatives of the FUNIBER university community and its university network. After the official photograph, both Heads of State toured the UNIROMANA facilities, accompanied by the other authorities present.
The distinction awarded to King Felipe VI also underscores the gratitude to the monarch for his commitment to the Dominican Republic, evidenced by his many official visits: in March 2023, during the 28th Ibero-American Summit in Santo Domingo; in August 2024, when he attended the inauguration of President Abinader for his second term; and in May 2025, on the occasion of the closing of the 29th World Congress of Law and, in particular, the inauguration of the first phase of UNIROMANA.
The Ibero-American dimension of King Felipe VI, as a figure who embodies the historical continuity of the Monarchy and, at the same time, promotes its projection towards contemporary challenges, constitutes the foundation of a far-reaching supraregional vocation. This status is reflected in his active involvement in all the Ibero-American Summits of Heads of State and Government, such as the aforementioned 28th Ibero-American Summit in Santo Domingo and the 2nd Meeting of the Conference of Ministers of Justice of Ibero-American Countries and Portuguese-speaking Countries (COMJIB/CMJPLOP), held in the Canary Islands under his presidency, with the participation of Spanish-speaking countries from four continents. Added to this is his participation in the inaugurations of Ibero-American presidents and the investiture of the Portuguese head of state, in a constant exercise of political and institutional support that strengthens democratic ties and projects a desire for sustained cooperation over time. Beyond institutional representation, the Monarch projects a Crown with prescriptive power, committed to a plural community united by linguistic, cultural and historical affinities that transcend the strictly national and shape a space for cooperation and understanding between the Spanish and Portuguese languages.
This commitment to the articulation of this Spanish-speaking space finds tangible expression in his support for the strategic educational projects promoted by FUNIBER, both in America and Africa. In addition to his presence at the inauguration of UNIROMANA —a Caribbean campus conceived as an Ibero-American academic and cultural enclave— he will attend, together with Queen Letizia, the presentation of the project for the Universidade Internacional do Cuanza (UNIC) in Angola in 2023. This Portuguese-language university represents a milestone in the expansion of the Iberian university model on the African continent and symbolises the close ties between Spain and Angola. In recognition of that royal visit, the ‘Reyes de España’ agora was inaugurated in 2024 in the heart of the UNIC campus. In this way, King Felipe VI has not only closely accompanied the development of two emblematic academic projects promoted by FUNIBER —one Spanish-speaking in the Caribbean and the other Portuguese-speaking in Africa— but has also actively contributed to consolidating an integrative vision of Iberophony, in line with his repeated references to ‘a formidable cultural and linguistic space with universal reach and projection that we must not lose sight of in an increasingly globalised world’, as he said in Lisbon in July 2014.