Eduardo González
The director of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), Antón Leis, and the CEO of the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), Nardos Bekele-Thomas, have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation that will allow the implementation of a voluntary contribution of five million euros from Spain to this institution.
The contribution, which will be implemented over the next 18 months, is part of a total investment of 20 million euros announced by the Spanish Government, to which is added another 50 million euros allocated by Spain to the African Union Commission to promote sustainable development and global solidarity.
Both contributions, of up to 70 million euros, were announced by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, during his speech at the ministerial meeting of the Executive Council of the African Union (AU) in February 2023 in Addis Ababa, as a contribution to the development agenda designed by this pan-African organization for the year 2063. Albares was the second Spanish Foreign Minister to give a speech before the Executive Council of the AU after Miguel Ángel Moratinos, in January 2008.
The objective of the agreement, signed this past Tuesday at the headquarters of the Permanent Representation of Spain in the EU in Brussels, is to consolidate a new collaboration program, entitled Creating opportunities for young people and women in Africa, a new alliance between AECID and AUDA-NEPAD, aimed at improving the living conditions of women and youth in Africa through capacity development, promotion of entrepreneurship and socioeconomic inclusion.
The program is therefore aligned with the aforementioned African Union Agenda 2063, the AU’s strategic concept for the socio-economic transformation of Africa, adopted in 2015 and which recognizes the fundamental role of women and youth as agents of change. on a continent where 60% of the population is under 25 years old.
“AECID considers AUDA-NEPAD its natural partner in Africa, thus strengthening regional ties and multilateralism,” the agency said in a press release in reference to the main development body of the African Union.
Between 2009 and 2022, AECID has disbursed 29 million euros to the African Union. The bulk of these contributions, 20 million euros, correspond to the Spain-NEPAD Fund for the empowerment of African women, from which more than 1.2 million people in 38 African countries have benefited, with programs such as business incubator for African women, which is now intended to be strengthened and expanded. On the other hand, AECID has reinforced the AU through budget contributions aimed at strengthening peace and security on the continent, or the African Union Center for Disease Control.
