The State Secretary for International Cooperation, Ángeles Moreno Bau, took part on Monday, in representation of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Arancha González Laya, in the informal meeting of EU development ministers. This Foreign Affairs Council, given over to development cooperation, addressed two main issues: debt relief for countries in a vulnerable situation in exchange for actions to enhance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the 2030 Agenda; and in support of the Gender Action Plan of European external action.
The first point on the agenda, regarding the sustainability of the sovereign debt of third countries in mid-COVID-19 pandemic, sought to study international initiatives that propose, among others, to tie in debt relief mechanisms to investment in the SDG, and to boost coordinated European action that can enhance results through Team Europe – an initiative to combat the consequences of the pandemic. The debate involved the participation of the European Commissioners for Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, and for International Partnership, Jutta Urpilainen, together with the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva.
Spain proposed that all EU countries agree to subject future debt exchange programmes to achieving the SDG and to the fight against climate change in order to rebuild societies in a fairer, greener manner, without leaving anyone behind. “For many countries, debt relief is the difference between a decade lost in development and an inclusive and sustainable recovery”, argued the State secretary.
A feminist foreign policy
Against the backdrop of the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and 20 years after the approval of Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, adopted by the United Nations Security Council, Spain has reaffirmed its decisive support for the EU’s 3rd Gender Action Plan (GAP), which is due to be approved on Wednesday, 25 November. During the informal meeting of development ministers, Spain stressed the importance of not taking any steps backward in the goals and policies achieved in the framework of the previous European plans and international instruments.
The COVID-19 crisis has had a disproportional impact on women and girls, which the Government of Spain has responded to urgently and firmly by implementing policies and instruments that place women and girls at the heart of the response to the pandemic. The Joint Response Strategy of Spanish Cooperation to COVID-19 and the Resolution of the United Nations General Assembly promoted by Spain on Women, Girls and COVID-19, which places gender equality at the heart of the recovery, are clear examples of Spain’s feminist foreign policy.
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