In Spain, the destabilization of the Persian Gulf countries does not go unnoticed by the economic and business world, which in recent years has seen trade ties with the Arab monarchies of the region grow steadily. The US and Israeli attack on Iran not only "looks like it will last quite a while," in the words of Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, but could also have unforeseen "repercussions." And it is these repercussions that are already affecting this region of the Middle East, which includes Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates—the two largest economies in the region—Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain. All of them form the Gulf Cooperation Council.

International sovereign wealth funds—publicly owned investment funds—are not unknown in Spain. In fact, like many countries that suffered the ravages of the financial crisis, the state embraced them as economic stabilizers: external liquidity has been (and continues to be) a precious resource in the face of insufficient domestic capital. And for years, the democratic deficit of some of the countries that control these sovereign wealth funds—the vast majority of which originate from oil and gas production—has not seemed to bother governments, despite repeated warnings about the need to control their operations.

Pedro Sánchez announced exactly one month ago the creation of a sovereign wealth fund endowed with 10.5 billion euros originating from loans from the European funds of the Spanish Recovery Plan. This starting point is supplemented by an additional 2.8 billion euros, also from this windfall, but derived from unspent transfers. This Monday saw the official launch of this new investment tool, and the Spanish Prime Minister stated that it will serve, among other things, to build 15,000 affordable and social rental homes per year. But how will this be achieved? These are the key elements of the tool designed to make it possible.