The Diplomat
The State Secretary for International Cooperation, Pilar Cancela, last week made her first official visit to Mexico, where she participated in the Joint Subcommittee on Technical and Scientific Cooperation, which defines the new lines of work between the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (AMEXCID) for the period 2022-2026.
“This is an exercise in coherence and prioritization, which will allow us to focus cooperation instruments on two objectives: gender equality and social cohesion and the fight against climate change,” Cancela said. “Both are global challenges that exceed the capacities of any state framed in the commitments of the 2030 Agenda. This represents a qualitative leap in the cooperation relationship between Spain and Mexico,” she added.
The signing of the minutes took place together with Carmen Moreno Toscano, Mexico’s Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs. The Joint Sub-Commission is one of the five sub-commissions that make up the Mexico-Spain Binational Commission, which will be held on December 15 with the participation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares.
On this official trip to Mexico, Cancela learned about different projects focused on water and sanitation, migration and gender violence. During a first day in Monterrey, she participated in the inauguration of the event Mexico-Spain Dialogues: Technology and Innovation to solve the challenges of Water, held at the Campus of the Tecnológico. In addition, Pilar Cancela visited the Casa Monarca of the Mexican Commission for Refugee Aid (COMAR), which contributes to the exercise and access to human rights of women seeking refugee status in Mexico and their families with a focus on human development and gender perspective.
In the Mexican capital, Cancela met with the cooperating partners at the AECID Technical Cooperation Office to learn about the work in this country since 1989. The Secretary of State also visited the Cultural Center of Spain (CCE) in Mexico, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, and another institution dedicated to the dissemination of Spanish culture and science, the Ateneo Español, whose historical archive she defined as “a special center, a repository of the historical memory of the Spanish exile and full of shared history between Spain and Mexico”.
Also in Mexico City, Cancela visited the Luna Center for comprehensive care for women, a joint project of the Government of Mexico City, UNDP, UN Women and AMEXCID, which was created as a result of the increase in cases of gender violence during the pandemic. By January 2022, the 27 Luna Women’s Attention Centers will serve more than 39,000 women.
In addition, the State Secretary attended the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Acciona, COMAR and Ayuda en Acción for job placement under the refugee project, as well as the signing of the MoU between BBVA, COMAR and Ayuda en Acción for bankarization under the same project. “These MoUs place the relationship between AECID and the private sector in a much more mature space of permanent dialogue and comprehensive partnership over and above specific instruments and corsets,” she stated.
