The Diplomat
The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) have signed an agreement to strengthen cooperation in health, climate change and food security.
The agreement was signed this past Thursday on the occasion of the IV meeting of the Joint Commission of the Spain-CARICOM Fund, which was held in Georgetown within the framework of the Scientific and Technical Cooperation Agreement between both parties.
The main objective of the meeting was to continue the dialogue between AECID and CARICOM to establish priorities in terms of cooperation and define the strategic objectives for a new joint cooperation program, as reported by the agency in a press release.
During the meeting, it was agreed to focus efforts on a series of priority sectors where Spain can contribute greater added value, such as health, climate change and disaster risk reduction (DRR) and food and nutritional security (FNS).
The Spanish delegation was made up of Antón Leis García, director of the AECID; Victoria Tur Gómez, director of the AECID Technical Office; Fernando Nogales Álvarez, ambassador of Spain in Trinidad and Tobago; and María Cristina Pérez Gutiérrez, ambassador in Special Mission for the Strategy for the Caribbean.
In the words of Antón Leis, the new agreement signed with CARICOM represents progress in bilateral collaboration and establishes three fundamental priorities: health, climate action and disaster risk management and food security. In addition, Leis highlighted the importance and urgency of working multilaterally on issues such as development financing, climate action or support for Haiti. He also thanked CARICOM Secretary-General Carla Barnett and her team for their commitment to what he called “a winning partnership.”
“This meeting marks a significant step in the consolidation of relations between Spain and the CARICOM member countries, underscoring the mutual commitment to work together to face common challenges and promote sustainable development in the region,” the press release concluded.
