Akhir 26, 1432, March 31, 2011, SPA-- Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and Britain's Prince Charles on Thursday called for bilateral "cooperation" to solve the Gibraltar dispute, according to dpa. London and Madrid should maintain political efforts to solve "pending" bilateral issues, a Spanish government communique quoted the Prince of Wales and Zapatero as saying during a meeting in Madrid. The communique did not mention Gibraltar, but it is known to be among the pending issues, and was raised by Spain's Crown Prince Felipe at a gala dinner with Charles and wife Camilla Parker-Bowles on Wednesday. It was time for both countries to "advance in solving the historical bilateral dispute," Felipe said. Spain has claimed the enclave on its southernmost tip since it was ceded to Britain by the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. The vast majority of Gibraltar's 30,000 residents, however, want to remain British. Earlier on Thursday, Charles stressed the "urgent challenge" to fight climate change at a ceremony where he received symbolic keys to the city of Madrid. The visit to Spain was the second leg of Charles and Camilla's foreign tour to promote British business and renewable energy. The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall arrived in Spain from Portugal. After visiting Madrid, the royal couple were scheduled to spend a few days in the southern city of Seville, before heading for Morocco over the weekend. Nearly 390,000 Britons live permanently in Spain, including many pensioners. Britain is Spain's second-largest investor, with about 700 British companies based in the country. Charles has made 10 official visits to Spain, but this week's visit was his first with the Duchess of Cornwall.
