The Diplomat
The director of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), Antón Leis, and the president of Transparency International, Delia Ferreira, signed last Monday in Madrid a Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate in the fight against corruption and its negative effects on democracy and human rights.
The agreement, with an initial duration of three years, will focus on two key areas: strengthening civil society and building democratic institutions through integrity and good governance, as reported by AECID through a press release.
Under this agreement, AECID and Transparency International will work together to improve the capacity and resilience of civil society organizations, especially those working with vulnerable groups, and address the challenges of corruption around the world, including promoting best practices, monitoring them, sharing knowledge and generating evidence on them.
The agreement will also facilitate the provision of training and technical assistance to build stronger and more accountable democratic institutions in regions such as Latin America, Africa and the Middle East and North Africa region.
“Fighting corruption and promoting transparency and accountability is a priority for AECID,” said Leis. “Our collaboration with Transparency International represents a step forward in our commitment to improve the quality of democracy and protect poor and vulnerable populations, who are often the most affected by corruption and poor governance,” he added.
For her part, Delia Ferreira recalled that “corruption is a threat to democracy and human rights.” “This agreement reaffirms our shared commitments with AECID to promote democracy, transparency and accountability, and formally advances our partnership to support the most vulnerable groups in the fight against corruption so that no one is left behind”, she added.
