The Diplomat
The Vice President for Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation of the Government, Nadia Calviño, yesterday assumed the presidency of the Board of Trustees of the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Public Administration and Policies (FIIAPP), a state public sector entity integrated into the Spanish cooperation as a whole.
In addition, the Secretary of State for International Cooperation, Pilar Cancela, will chair the Standing Committee of the Board of Trustees, whose meeting was held in virtual format to approve the annual accounts and the strategic plan. Also on the Board of Trustees are the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, and Justice, Pilar Llop, and the Secretaries of State for Public Function, Agenda 2030, Environment and Migration.
In addition, the Board of Trustees approved the Foundation’s Strategy 2021-2024, which has as its priorities the establishment of international alliances between Spain and Europe with third countries, the internationalization of administrations, excellence in project management -more than 80 planned in 2022- and the increase in the relative weight of cooperation from public systems. FIIAPP’s achievements in 2021 include support for the Inter-American Transparency Law, the creation of a legal assistance network for migrants in Latin America, the dismantling of a trafficking network in Niger, the training of more than 2,000 judges and prosecutors in Turkey and the integration of disability in the public policies of five countries.
“Spain must play a central role in international cooperation led by public institutions,” said Calviño during the meeting. “The FIIAPP is a strategic institution and must play an important role in the deployment of the European Union’s external action within the multiannual financial framework 2021-2027,” she added.
For his part, Cancela affirmed that “Spanish Cooperation is a State policy and public technical cooperation is an essential part within this system.” “The exchange of knowledge, peer-to-peer learning and learning between public administrations from more than 120 countries results in a global benefit that contributes to the improvement of people’s welfare,” she added.
In the opinion of FIIAPP’s director, Anna Terrón, “public technical cooperation is making headway as a priority form of cooperation not only in Spain, but also in Europe: building development by supporting institutional reforms and improving public policies increases the impact and scope of projects”.
The FIIAPP, created in 1998, currently executes a volume of projects worth more than 400 million euros in more than 120 countries, with a significant percentage of European funding. The Foundation works to improve public policies and public systems that can have an impact on development, from climate, migration, justice and security to digitalization, employment, transport, trade and, centrally, social cohesion.
