MEXICO AND SPAIN STRENGTHEN THEIR STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION

• The Spanish officials involved in cooperation are in Mexico to renew the strategic partnership.

• The private sector will be involved in innovative cooperation programs.

• Bilateral meetings mark 25 years of Spanish cooperation in Mexico.

The Secretary of State for International Cooperation and Iberoamerica, Jesus Manuel Gracia Aldaz, and the Director of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID in Spanish), Juan Lopez-Dóriga, are on an official working visit to Mexico, whose main goal is to discuss the current state of bilateral cooperation and to improve cooperation to reflect the level of the strategic relationship.

The visiting officials have a full agenda that includes interviews with Mexican Foreign Secretary Jose Antonio Meade; the Undersecretaries of Foreign Affairs and Latin America and the Caribbean; and the head of the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (AMEXCID), Juan Manuel Valle Pereña.

The progress made in joint programs was assessed and a portfolio of projects based on public-private partnerships was outlined for the development of sectors and issues of mutual interest. The experiences will then be copied to create triangular cooperation programs.

The Spanish officials are in Mexico to mark the 25th anniversary of Spanish cooperation in Mexico.

On May 7th, the delegation arrived in Oaxaca to attend the presentation ceremony of the "Light at Home Oaxaca," project, the first program launched by the Public-Private Development Partnership (APPD in Spanish), which the Spanish government is promoting in Mexico through the AECID, together with the Oaxaca state government, the Acciona Microenergía Foundation and the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation.

"Light at Home Oaxaca" helps bring electricity to poor families in rural areas of Oaxaca. It is estimated that when the project concludes, 1,500 homes will have electric light in the 40 towns with less than 100 inhabitants in the region. Seven thousand five hundred people, mostly indigenous, will benefit.

With this project, AMEXCID is continuing its development work in Mexico through new forms of international cooperation. It continues its dual role as both a donor and recipient of aid.

This visit reaffirms the excellent state of bilateral cooperation between Mexico and Spain, after 25 years of fruitful exchanges.