After the new Spanish Law on Cooperation for Sustainable Development and Global Solidarity was approved last week in the Lower House of Parliament, the Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, officially opened today the first “Spanish Cooperation Office” (“Oficina de la Cooperación Española” is the new term used in the legal text).
During his visit to this office, José Manuel Albares recognised the work undertaken by Spanish NGOs in Ethiopia at a meeting with some of the representatives working in the country. He was also shown in situ how the contributions from the Spanish Cooperation are used on specific projects, such as the Hospital Menelik II in Addis Ababa, where he was thanked by the Ethiopian Minister of Health, Dr. Lia Tadesse, for the work undertaken by Spain.
That meeting took place after José Manuel Albares had signed a new Country Partnership Framework (CPF) with the Ethiopian Minister of Finance, Ahmed Shide. This agreement renews a partnership between the Spanish Cooperation and Ethiopia until 2027, and initially plans to allocate 44 million euros to sectors such as rural development, health and gender equality.
The signing of this new agreement, which represents a 15% increase in the financial commitment to the country when compared with the previous 2015-2021 Country Partnership Framework, clearly highlights the ongoing and strengthened commitment from the Spanish Cooperation to Ethiopia. Nonetheless, that does not affect the demand made by the Spanish minister to the Ethiopian authorities for a rigorous official investigation into the killing of a Spanish aid worker María Hernández in June 2021, during the conflict in the country’s Tigray region.
Food security crisis
This new Office and the new Country Partnership Framework demonstrate how Spain will be able to apply its new Law on Cooperation to help alleviate the food security crisis, in which Africa stands at the epicentre. The Russian invasion of Ukraine, the pandemic, the destruction of value chains, climate emergencies and rising prices have dragged 200 million more people into a situation of food insecurity.
The Spanish Cooperation in Africa views the African Union and its development agency (AUDA-NEPAD) as essential partners. For that reason, while speaking to the Executive Council of the African Union, the Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, announced an initial allocation of five million euros to a new cooperation programme that, besides gender equality, will create new opportunities for young people, jobs, digitalisation and entrepreneurship. Set to run for a period of four years, the programme will mobilise up to 20 million euros based on the needs and objectives identified.
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