Pedro Sánchez used Spain's week at the United Nations to defend a growth model built on economic expansion and social protection. The government says Standard & Poor's has raised its forecast for Spain's 2026 growth to 2.4%, almost triple the projected pace for the eurozone. Demócrata reported that the revision gives Sánchez a strong argument abroad. His speech also acknowledged the pressure of the housing crisis at home.
That contrast sits at the centre of Spain's message in New York. The country wants to be seen as economically successful while recognizing that growth has not resolved the right to housing. Sánchez linked stronger employment and better wages with lower inequality under the coalition government, then identified housing as the area where much more work is needed.
Sánchez placed that domestic argument within a broader defence of multilateralism. In his account of the UN week, cooperation should meet confrontation, dialogue should answer retreat, and respect for international law, human rights and equality should counter division. He said the United Nations must become more representative and better reflect the 21st century, instead of remaining shaped by the balance of the 20th.
That position came with a specific technology agenda. Spain joined France, Kenya and Australia to convene the Coalition for the Protection of Children in Artificial Intelligence. Its goal is to create global measures to protect children. Sánchez said private companies matter but cannot act alone, and backed regulation at national, European and multilateral levels. The initiative follows earlier AI coverage of his push for international safeguards. The Élysée says the coalition's roadmap covers safety and privacy by design, benchmarking, accountability, AI-generated child sexual abuse material, deepfakes and AI literacy. The coalition launched on 7 July 2026 at the first UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance. By September, its roadmap had the support of 23 states and eight UN-system entities. The UN said the New York dialogue on children's rights in the age of AI brought together the leaders of France, Spain, Kenya and Australia during the 81st session of the General Assembly. Australia also described the meeting as a joint effort to advance the global coalition.
He also presented the 2030 Agenda as a programme for ordinary people as well as governments and international institutions. Sánchez said he had taken part in a dialogue involving advocates of the Sustainable Development Goals. He described his role as co-chair alongside the prime minister of Barbados.
Gender equality was another part of the diplomatic message. Sánchez backed the idea that a Latin American woman should lead the United Nations Secretariat-General for the first time in the organisation's 80-year history. He also attended a tribute to Gloria Steinem. Equality between men and women, he said, belongs within the broader structure of human rights.
Economic promotion went hand in hand with the diplomatic work. At meetings with international investors and the US-Spain Chamber of Commerce, Sánchez presented Spain as stable and attractive for productive investment and job creation. He also pointed to the country's energy transition, including a cooperation agreement with the State of California on climate action and clean energy, plus a new alliance with Bloomberg Philanthropies to support clean-energy and grid projects.
The president's programme in the United States will continue in Boston. He is due to meet the governor of Massachusetts and take part in a working programme at Harvard University. His New York appearance also included meetings with heads of state and prime ministers. The press conference covered housing, evictions, migration policy, relations with Morocco and confidence in former prime minister Zapatero; the supplied transcript gave no further details.
Sánchez's presentation ties a concrete growth forecast to the government's emphasis on cohesion, climate action and rights, while his reference to housing recognizes a problem affecting daily life in Spain. The S&P assessment also carried warnings about inflation and long-term interest rates, information from reporting on the agency's outlook.
