The new Spanish cooperation | Spain

The health evolution due to the omicron variant reminds us that the well-being of Spaniards does not depend only on the measures we adopt at home, but is also influenced by what happens outside our borders. Our well-being also depends on the well-being of others. This link between national and global well-being goes beyond the health field. Our own prosperity and security depend on the stability of our partners.

Cooperating is part of our values, of what we are and what we represent as a country: an open, modern society, committed to the fight against inequality, the preservation of our planet and gender equality. It is not surprising that the Eurobarometer on development cooperation places us as the third most supportive of the Twenty-seven.

In the case of the covid crisis, no one doubts that, in addition to increasing the national vaccination effort, it is necessary to continue facilitating global access to vaccines and strengthen the health systems of third countries. The EU has exported more than 1,400 million vaccines to 150 countries, with a relevant role for Spain: it has committed 50 million doses.

But over the last decade that leadership has faded. Based on a law passed in 1998, our regulatory framework has not adapted to developments in cooperation for almost 25 years. The Government is working simultaneously on two fronts, budgetary and regulatory, to once again make cooperation a true State policy. These are concrete decisions, such as the president’s announcement at the COP-26 in Glasgow to increase our annual commitment to climate finance by 50% so that the poorest States can apply effective measures.

The recently approved Budgets follow this line and incorporate an increase in our Official Development Assistance (ODA) of almost 400 million euros compared to last year, exceeding 3,500 million in 2022. It is the largest increase in a decade and once again places Spanish cooperation at levels not seen since 2011.

This is an important step in our commitment to devote 0.7% of Gross National Income to ODA. We are going to ask the Courts, for the first time, to give legal status to this claim in the new Law of Cooperation for Sustainable Development and Global Solidarity. The new regulation will make it possible to make the Sustainable Development Goals a reality. In a post-pandemic reconstruction context, our partners need access to financing in the form of donations, but also soft loans, particularly in Ibero-America. More than 240,000 people a year benefit from microcredits from Spanish cooperation and we are going to strengthen these tools to reach more people.

The standard will also strengthen the role of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) as the cornerstone of our system. Nearly 2,700 Spaniards work outside our borders as aid workers: often in difficult contexts, they need certainty and flexibility to develop their professional careers. Therefore, we will create a new Statute for cooperators that encourages the attraction, training and promotion of human resources and dignifies their work.

Jose Manuel Albares He is Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation.