Spain will contribute 2 million euros ($2.08 million) to key programs of the Organization of American States (OAS) in 2025, according to an agreement signed today between the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and the OAS in Washington, D.C.
After signing the agreement, the Permanent Observer of Spain to the OAS, Carmen Montón, said that for her Mission, "it is a satisfaction to renew this commitment because we pursue the purpose of continuing to support a sister region and the oldest multilateral Organization, convinced of its value for dialogue and the search for joint solutions." She also stressed that her country "is the only one that has a specific fund with the OAS for voluntary contributions, a unique instrument through which the Spanish commitment to cooperation with the Organization, which we consider a fundamental partner in an absolutely priority region, has been materialized and ordered."
Meanwhile, the Chair of the Permanent Council and Permanent Representative of Bolivia, Héctor Arce, said that "Spain's ties with Latin America are very strong, indelible I would say, and beyond the complexities and difficulties of the past, no one can deny that we have traveled a long path in the past that projects a broad horizon of coexistence, collaboration and entrepreneurship among equal and brother countries." Ambassador Arce added that "cooperation has become a vital instrument for the functioning of fundamental bodies for the work of our Organization."
The Secretary General of the OAS, Luis Almagro, valued "the privileged dialogue that Spain maintains on an ongoing basis with our member states and with the General Secretariat." "Spain's leadership will continue to be important to continue strengthening ties between the Americas and Europe. We appreciate Spain's commitment to continue working with the OAS and deepening ongoing collaboration," concluded the Secretary General.
Spain has been a Permanent Observer to the OAS since 1972, and since the creation of the Fondo España in 2006, the European country has contributed more than 74 million dollars. This new contribution will benefit, among others, the Electoral Observation Missions, the Program for the Universalization of Civil Identity in the Americas (PUICA), the Mission to Support the Peace Process in Colombia (MAPP-OAS), the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and projects of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the Special Rapporteurship of the IACHR for Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Rights (REDESCA).
Reference: FNE-144223
