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H.E. Mr. Antonio SÁNCHEZ-BENEDITO GASPAR
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Spain to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
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Q. What are the priority areas of cooperation of the Government of Spain in Ethiopia?
In
the last few years Spain has considerably scaled up its cooperation
with Ethiopia, that is considered a priority country for the Spanish
Cooperation Master Plan. According to the first Joint Commission that
took place in Addis Ababa in January 2008, the target areas are Health,
Gender and Rural Development, as well as Humanitarian Assistance. In
global terms, our ODA amounted in 2008 to 40 million Euros. We attach a
lot of importance to work both bilaterally and multilaterally,
especially with the UN System, following the principles on Ownership,
Alignment and Harmonization, enshrined in the Paris Declaration and the
Accra Plan of Action.
Q. The European Union like many other
countries supported the UN High Level Panel on System Coherence. Even
though the UN Country Team in Ethiopia is not a Delivering As One
pilot, it is proceeding on a self starter basis and our readers would
like to know your views on UN reforms in general and Delivering As One
in particular?
Spain on a national basis, and as a
member of the EU, is strongly supporting the UN Reforms Process with
the aim of enhancing the effectiveness and coherence of its activities.
In this regard, Spain is actively engaged in the implementation of the
One UN programme.
Q. As you are aware, Ethiopia is one of the
beneficiary countries under the UNDP- Spain MDGs achievement fund with
a total of five approved joint programs/concept notes. What are the
main objectives of the Fund? How do you see Ethiopia further
benefiting from this Fund?
The Spanish commitment to the enhancement to the UN System coherence and harmonization agenda is also reflected in the UNDP-MDG Fund promoted by Spain with a total contribution of more than 700 million USD worldwide. This Fund is an important instrument to jointly work towards the attainment of the Millennium Goals in a coordinated manner, according to the principles of one plan, one budget and one report, and in strict alignment with the Ethiopian National Sectorial Plans. Also, the expertise of the different UN Agencies is key. Currently there are in Ethiopia three ongoing programmes in the framework of the Spanish-UNDP MDG Fund in the areas of Culture, Gender and Environment, as well as two more in the pipeline concerning Children & Nutrition and the Private Sector. All in all, the total allocation amounts to 26.5 million USD.
Q. Spain has recently signed a MoU with the African Union Commission to support overall capacity building and the Peace and Security Department of the Institution. Can you tell us more about this initiative and how do you see a enhanced collaboration with the UN in this area?
The Africa Union is a key partner for the new Spanish Global Policy to Africa, our so-called Africa Plan. In March this year Chairman Ping visited Spain to sign with the Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister Moratinos, the MoU that regulates an important Spanish contribution to the African Union, 30 million Euros for the period 2009-2011, that will focus on Peace and Security and Institutional Capacity. The African Union has become an indispensable actor in the resolution of conflicts and in peace building in the African continent. In my view, the AU leadership is essential to ensure that the Africans themselves take the primary responsibility in solving their own problems, but at the same time a close collaboration with the UN, as in the case of Sudan-Darfur and Somalia, is a pre-requisite for any successful outcome
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Mr. Ilunga Ngandu
UNHCR Régional Liaison Représentative |
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Mr. Bjorn Ljungqvist
UNICEF Country Representative in Ethiopia
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Mr. Abdoulie Janneh
UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa |
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Ms. Alice Ouedraogo
Director , ILO Sub regional Office for Eastern Africa covering, Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana, Liberia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Nigeria, Sera Leone, Somalia, Seychelles, Tanzania and Uganda
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His Excellency Ato Seyoum Mesfin
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. |
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