King of Spain, Obama meet at White House

First lady Michelle Obama took the queen on a tour of the White House grounds and talked over tea.

Washington decided not to carry out a strike, however, when Syria agreed to destroy its chemical weapons stockpiles, although the global community has expressed concern that the country may not have destroyed all its weapons. “As a matter of foreign policy, we are deeply committed to maintaining a relationship with a strong and unified Spain”, he said, adding Spain’s presence was important in Europe and to the United States.

President Obama won’t watch Wednesday’s Republican presidential debate, his spokesman said Tuesday.

“So this is something that from a national security perspective and from an business perspective we’re going to have to continue to concentrate on”, the president said.

Obama also weighed in on a movement for Catalan independence from Spain.

The king told the business executives that, as the economic turbulence is overcome, Spain is gaining strength, with a forecast of economic growth for this year and 2016.

King Felipe said he started the day off Tuesday by visiting Mount Vernon to honor the nation’s first president, George Washington, but also to reflect on the long, shared history of Spain and the U.S.

The White House has been a revolving door of royals, with visits from Jordanian King Abdullah II, Prince William, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman – all in the past year.

The couple will travel on to Miami, where they’ll attend the opening ceremony of the Spanish Film Festival and then to St. Augustine, Fla., to celebrate the 450th anniversary of the Spanish-founded city.