The Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, chaired an event organised by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), titled “Development agencies: translating the ambition of the Financing for Development Summit into action on the ground”. The meeting served to breathe new life into the value of global solidarity and the right to development at the Seville Conference.
The meeting was attended by the Agência Brasileira de Cooperação (ABC), the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) and the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), among other development agencies, as well as key national and international actors in the field of cooperation.
The panel was opened by José Manuel Albares, Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation. The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation Director, Antón Leis García, represented the host agency and co-organiser of the event and reaffirmed Spain's active role in strengthening the international cooperation system. Lastly, the State Secretary for International Cooperation, Eva Granados Galiano, was also in attendance.
The panel explored the crucial role that these agencies play in channelling international solidarity and remaining a key instrument for accelerating the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other continental development frameworks.
The meeting brought together directors and senior officials from bilateral cooperation agencies all around the world with the aim of strengthening the transformative role of development cooperation in mobilising funding, promoting global solidarity and the effective implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and continental agendas such as the African Union's Agenda 2063.
The role of agencies
During the session, representatives from the organising agencies and other high-level participants discussed the role of development agencies in translating the Conference commitments into concrete and effective actions on the ground. Key issues addressed included the current challenges and opportunities for development agencies in a global context marked by uncertainty, the reduction of Official Development Assistance (ODA) budgets in some donor countries and a growing demand for effective and adaptable solutions.
Priorities for implementing the Seville outcome document were also discussed, including innovative approaches, expanded collaboration with other actors (development banks, civil society, private sector) and the need to mobilise new concessional resources. Furthermore, a new narrative of international cooperation, focusing on the right to development, global solidarity and knowledge sharing, was designed to revitalise the founding principles of development cooperation.
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