President Moon Jae-in on June 15 greets officials awaiting his arrival at Madrid-Barajas Airport in Spain with first lady Kim Jung-sook. Spain is the final leg of his three-nation European tour. (Cheong Wa Dae's official Facebook page)

By Xu Aiying and Lee Jihae

President Moon Jae-in and first lady Kim Jung-sook on June 15 arrived in Spain on the final leg of his three-nation European tour.

They arrived at Madrid-Barajas Airport in the afternoon and began the itinerary of his three-day state visit.

President Moon is the first state guest of Spain since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out last year.

He visited Madrid City Hall and attended a state banquet hosted by King Felipe VI at the Royal Palace of Madrid.

During his trip, the president is slated to hold a summit and a joint news conference with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and visit the Spanish senate.

President Moon will attend a green and digital business summit in Madrid and an event on bilateral economic cooperation such as roundtables on Korean-Spanish tourism.

He is the first Korean leader in 14 years to make a state visit to Spain.

Last year marked the 70th anniversary of bilateral relations, so this trip is expected to raise the level of friendly cooperative relations.

President Moon is expected to discuss raising cooperation in overcoming the pandemic and in customs to foster a stable commercial environment, as well as diversifying collaboration in eco-friendly future industries and economy. 

President Moon Jae-in, Spanish King Felipe VI, first lady Kim Jung-sook and Spanish Queen Letizia on Jun 15 head for the state banquet venue at the Royal Palace of Madrid. (Yonhap News)