The Diplomat
The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) has pledged nearly 1.5 million euros to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for projects in food security, sustainable energy and the promotion of gender equality.
This voluntary contribution is part of the multi-agency Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed last Tuesday in Abuja (capital of Nigeria) by the coordinator of AECID in Nigeria and for ECOWAS, Raquel Ferrando Sellers, and Omar Alieu Touray, president of ECOWAS, an intergovernmental organization of regional economic integration that brings together fifteen countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The signing ceremony was attended by the Spanish Ambassador to Nigeria, Juan Ignacio Sell.
Under the MoU, AECID will make a voluntary contribution of 1,498. 1,498,000 to three ECOWAS specialized agencies for the implementation of four projects: the promotion of Integrated School Feeding Models in West Africa, to be implemented by the Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food (ARAA); the Water and Energy Project for the Enhancement of Food Security and Socio-Economic Development, by the ECOWAS Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE); the Clean Energy Circular Economy Transition Project, which will also be implemented by ECREEE; and the provision of institutional support to the ECOWAS Center for Gender Development (ECDG) in favor of equality and the fight against gender-based violence in the region.
“The signing of this MoU is an unprecedented event, as it is the first time that Spanish Cooperation has signed an agreement involving several ECOWAS agencies in the implementation of projects,” stated AECID in a press release. In addition, the agreement is the culmination of collaborative efforts with the three ECOWAS specialized agencies: ARAA, ECREEE and CCDG. In addition to strengthening ties between Spanish Cooperation and the regional bloc, this MoU will serve as a basis for the adoption of a new cooperation framework planned for next year.
