<h6><strong>The Diplomat</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The Council of Ministers approved this Monday several contributions, for more than 24 million euros, for the financing of water and sanitation programs in Guatemala and Ecuador.</strong></h4> On the one hand, Spain will contribute 1.6 million euros to the Association Action Against Hunger in Guatemala, charged to the Cooperation Fund for Water and Sanitation (FCAS), for the financing of the program "Improvement of sanitation services in the basin of Lake Petén Itzá." There will also be another contribution of more than two million euros (2,030,650.72 euros) to the Association Action against Hunger Guatemala, also from the Cooperation Fund for Water and Sanitation, to finance the program "Phase II - RUK'U'X YA' Program: Governance and Sustainability Model for water and sanitation services with a focus on comprehensive and territorial management in the Lake Atitlán Basin." The Council of Ministers also approved the granting of a loan of 20 million dollars (19.2 million euros) and two contributions of 1.26 million euros for water and sanitation programs in Ecuador. On the one hand, the Government authorized the granting of a loan to the Municipal Water and Sewerage Company of Guayaquil, Ecuador, charged to the Fund for the Promotion of Development (FONPRODE) and for a maximum amount of 20 million dollars, with the objective of improving the health and economic living conditions of the population of Guayaquil, preserving its environment and helping the region adapt to climate change. In addition, it also authorized the payment of up to 260,000 euros, plus Value Added Tax, to the French Development Agency, also charged to FONPRODE, for the costs of designing and supervising the Safe Water and Sanitation Program for Guayaquil, financed with the aforementioned loan of 20 million dollars. Finally, the Council of Ministers authorized a contribution of one million euros to the Decentralized Autonomous Municipal Government of the Canton of Portoviejo in Ecuador, from the Cooperation Fund for Water and Sanitation, to finance the Program "Drinking water and sanitation for dispersed rural communities of the Canton of Portoviejo, province of Manabí, Ecuador. Phase II, scope expansion." The Cooperation Fund for Water and Sanitation (FCAS) was created within the framework of the General State Budget (PGE) to finance actions, within the policy of international cooperation for development, aimed at promoting and improving the access of citizens of Latin American countries to water and sanitation services.
