The Diplomat
The Governing Council of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) renewed last Friday its management staff in eight countries: Nigeria, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Senegal, Equatorial Guinea, Morocco, Algeria and Panama.
The Council meeting, chaired by the Secretary of State for International Cooperation, Ángeles Moreno Bau, approved the appointment of eight new general coordinators of Spanish Cooperation based on criteria such as “extensive experience in the field” and “vital and academic diversity”.
The new appointments were presented by the director of AECID, Magdy Martinez Solimán, and include people between the ages of 42 and 61, with an average age of 48, younger than the current average for similar positions. All the new coordinators have “ample experience in different positions in developing countries, with particularly outstanding careers in positions of responsibility in Latin America and the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa or the Maghreb and the Middle East, priority regions for Spanish Cooperation” according to the Agency.
The academic and professional itineraries are also varied, with three internal promotions of AECID staff, two candidates from the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Public Administration and Policies (FIIAPP), two more from different development NGOs and one appointment of a United Nations expert.
Their places of birth and backgrounds are also varied, and the new general coordinators include engineers and graduates in law, sociology and international relations, among other specialties. “They are therefore international cooperation professionals with extensive experience and proven professional maturity,” he added.
The new Spanish Cooperation coordinators are Raquel Fernando Sellers, in Nigeria; Luis Miguel Gómez Orodea, in Ecuador; Margarita García Hernández, in Ethiopia; Javier Vega Barral, in Senegal; Clara Bajo Bernardo, in Equatorial Guinea; Ignacio Martínez Boluda, in Morocco; Luisa Barrenechea Fernández, in Algeria; and José Antonio González Mancebo, in Panama.
