<h6><strong>The Diplomat</strong></h6> <h4><strong>Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares received his Dominican counterpart, Roberto Álvarez, in Madrid this Wednesday, just one week after the signing of the new cooperation framework between the two countries for the period 2025-2029, which provides for Spanish official development aid of €110 million.</strong></h4> “Spain and the Dominican Republic are sister countries united by strong human, cultural, and economic ties,” Albares wrote on social media after his meeting with the Dominican Foreign Minister at the Ministry's headquarters in Viana Palace. “We share a commitment to democracy and multilateralism. We are part of the Ibero-American Community,” he added. During the meeting, according to a press release from the Ministry, the two ministers discussed upcoming international events taking place in Spain, such as the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development, to be held in Seville at the end of June, and the Ibero-American Summit in Madrid in 2026. Albares also expressed Spain's commitment to Haiti to prevent the crisis from affecting the stability of the Dominican Republic and the entire region. He recalled that Spain supports the deployment of the Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti, with a total contribution of four million euros, and supports its conversion into a United Nations Peacekeeping Operation, "as the only means to restore security and stabilize the country." In addition, the minister highlighted "the importance of Spanish cooperation, which has been present in the Dominican Republic for 35 years and has committed or is being implemented in Official Development Assistance (ODA), prioritizing institutional strengthening, gender issues, and the reduction of inequalities." Precisely, on May 14, Roberto Álvarez and the Spanish State Secretary for International Cooperation, Eva Granados, signed the Minutes of the 10th Meeting of the Joint Spanish-Dominican Cooperation Commission in Santo Domingo, which includes the Partnership Framework for Sustainable Development 2025-2029. After the signing, the Dominican Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Economy, Planning and Development, the Spanish Embassy in Santo Domingo, and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) emphasized that this instrument will promote the strengthening of the rule of law and the protection of human rights, the improvement of working conditions, access to quality, inclusive, gender-sensitive technical and vocational education, and sustainable territorial management, with an emphasis on universal access to water and sanitation, climate resilience, and ecosystem preservation. The document provides for Spanish Official Development Assistance (ODA) of approximately €110 million for the period 2025-2029, €70 million of which will correspond to repayable financing through the FONPRODE/FEDES program, focused on sanitation and solid waste projects, and €40 million to non-repayable financing managed through various channels. "The signing of this instrument represents the consolidation of a legacy of increasingly effective and transformative cooperation, which contributes to strengthening our institutions and the well-being of our citizens," Álvarez stated after the signing. "With the signing of this Partnership Framework, Spain reaffirms its commitment to the sustainable development of the Dominican Republic, a priority country for our cooperation, as reflected in the 2024-2027 Master Plan, and an ally in supporting the 2030 Agenda and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals," Granados stated. Álvarez's visit also comes two days after the arrival of the Princess of Asturias, Leonor de Borbón, to the Dominican Republic aboard the training ship Juan Sebastián de Elcano, as part of her military training with the Spanish Navy. Both her father, King Felipe VI, and grandfather, King Emeritus Juan Carlos I, also visited the country during their military training aboard the same ship, in 1987 and 1958, respectively.
