The State Secretary for International Cooperation, Eva Granados, highlighted on Wednesday in Mexico City the renewed impetus for cooperation between Spain and Mexico, following a working meeting with the Executive Director of the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (AMEXCID), Alejandra del Moral.
The meeting provided an opportunity to review the progress made since the last Joint Sub-Committee on Cooperation and to discuss the new opportunities arising from the reactivation of the Spain-Mexico Joint Fund, an advanced bilateral cooperation instrument that will enable both countries to jointly identify, finance and develop projects of shared interest.
“Spain and Mexico have entered a new phase of cooperation, based on trust, dialogue between equals and the determination to transform our common priorities into concrete results for our citizens,” said Granados.
The Joint Fund will strengthen collaboration between the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and AMEXCID and will facilitate the implementation of both bilateral actions and triangular cooperation initiatives with other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Fund builds on the work carried out by the AECID through other instruments, in line with the priorities of Spanish Cooperation in Mexico, such as gender equality and social cohesion, the environment, climate change, and drinking water and sanitation.
The reactivation of this mechanism comes against a backdrop of intensifying cooperation relations between Spain and Mexico. Spanish Cooperation currently has 35 projects underway in the country, worth over 29 million euros, representing a 20.8 per cent increase in funding compared with the previous year. This growth reflects the commitment of both governments to expand their collaboration tools and move towards a more horizontal, innovative and results-oriented form of cooperation.
Subsequently, the State Secretary discussed with the Mexican Government collaboration to strengthen the capabilities of the National Search Commission in locating and identifying missing and unaccounted-for persons. Spain is thus supporting a key priority for Mexican institutions and society, based on respect for the victims and a commitment to human rights.
The State Secretary also expressed her gratitude for Mexico’s constructive participation in the preparatory work for the forthcoming Ibero-American Summit in Madrid, one of the key milestones of which will be the adoption of the Ibero-American Cooperation Strategy 2027–2030. Granados highlighted Mexico’s contribution to the initiatives being promoted within the framework of the Summit in areas such as care, artificial intelligence, academic mobility and disaster risk reduction.
Cooperation projects with an impact
Following her schedule in Mexico City, Granados will travel to Yucatán to visit several Spanish Cooperation projects on the ground and meet with state authorities, institutions and participating communities.
In Mérida, the State Secretary will hold a meeting with the Governor of Yucatán, Joaquín Díaz Mena. She will then inaugurate a project in Tekax to provide access to drinking water and sanitation in rural indigenous communities. The project combines resilient infrastructure, institutional strengthening and community participation, based on the principle that access to water is a human right essential for health, dignity and sustainable development. Finally, she will visit the archaeological site of Uxmal, as part of Spain’s commitment to understanding and protecting the heritage of Mexico’s indigenous peoples.
Cultural cooperation also plays a central role in strengthening relations between the two countries. Spain and Mexico share a desire to deepen their understanding of their common history and to recognise and promote the richness of indigenous peoples and cultures. Initiatives such as the exhibition ‘Half the World. Women in Indigenous Mexico’ have demonstrated culture’s ability to build bridges, foster dialogue and forge a bilateral relationship based on respect and a shared vision for the future.
In Progreso, Granados will meet with representatives of fishing communities and the Mexican Institute for Research into Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture to learn about the progress of a project that combines scientific research, governance, training and sustainable techniques for containing and harvesting sargassum.
The agenda also includes a visit to BioPlaster, a Mexican company working on transforming sargassum into biodegradable bioplastics as part of an initiative promoted by IDB Lab and funded by AECID. These projects reflect a comprehensive approach that seeks to turn a serious environmental and economic challenge for the Caribbean into new solutions based on the circular economy, innovation and the creation of opportunities for coastal communities.
Through this visit, Spain and Mexico reaffirm their commitment to continuing to build, together, a transformative, horizontal and solidarity-based partnership, capable of strengthening institutions, improving people’s lives and providing joint responses to major regional and global challenges.
—NON OFFICIAL TRANSLATION—