The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation has doubled in two years the budget allocated to the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (Spanish acronym: AECID), amounting to 574.63 million euros for 2023, a rise of 196.25 million euros from 2022. Accordingly, the total AECID expense budget amounts to 698.23 million euros, including delegated cooperation from the European Union and other items. This is a rise of 42.15% on the General State Budget 2022, and the highest figure since 2011.
Furthermore, and as a reflection of the government’s commitment to the 2030 Agenda in its global dimension, Official Development Assistance (ODA) of the General State Administration (Spanish acronym: AGE) rises from 0.28% to 0.34% of Gross National Income, in line with the aim of reaching the target of 0.7% by the year 2030. This figure stood at 0.19% in 2017.
Specifically, the Draft General State Budget (Spanish acronym: PGE) for 2023 raises this item to 4,419.15 million euros in ODA under the PGE 2023, a rise of 143.7% on the figure for 2015, the year in which the amount for ODA recorded its lowest level under the General State Budget. The rise in 2023 is particularly significant to achieve the 0.7% target for 2030 set out in the Draft Cooperation for Sustainable Development and Global Solidarity Act currently in its passage through Parliament.
Strategic Contributions to Multilateral Development Agencies by the State Secretariat for International Cooperation (Spanish acronym: SECI) to speed up progress on the 2030 Agenda amount to 50.74 million euros, thus materialising the commitment taken on by the government at the highest level at international summits and forums, and will implement support for the multilateral system and the formation of alliances, which are also a priority for AECID’s multilateral action.
The allocation by the SECI is completed by the Cooperation Fund for Water and Sanitation (Spanish acronym: FCAS) with 25 million euros, and by the Fund to Promote Development (Spanish acronym: FONPRODE) with 219.23 million euros.
International cooperation for sustainable development is a priority of the Government of Spain. The COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, with collateral effects on energy prices, financing and, above all, food security, are having an unprecedented impact on people, communities and countries in situations of greatest poverty, exclusion and vulnerability, endangering the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) at a global level and threatening to reverse years of progress in human development and the reduction of poverty and hunger.
This budget will serve to support developing countries in their efforts to combat poverty in all its dimensions, and to reduce inequalities, enhance gender equality and the ecological, social and digital transitions both at a bilateral level and to reinforce multilateralism. It will also serve to reinforce and support cooperation priorities during the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of 2023.
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