Spain

Background

Spain joined the African Development Fund (ADF) in 1973 and the African Development Bank in 1984. The Bank and Spain signed the agreement establishing the Spanish Trust Fund in 1995. The Bank Group mainly collaborates with the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade (Instituto de Comercio Exterior- ICEX) and the Spanish economy and finance ministry. 

The bilateral cooperation with Spain focused on education, health, energy, transport, the environment and IT. Since 2007, in line with AfDB Technical Cooperation Fund Reform, Spain has expressed interest in participating in thematic trust funds in infrastructure, water and sanitation; private sector development and governance rather than replenishing the bilateral Trust Fund.

Joint Initiatives

Activities eligible for coverage by the Fund range from different kinds of missions (identification, preparation, evaluation, supervision, etc) to the design of studies and the provision of long-term experts. To date, these Funds have financed 12 operations in the following sectors: education, health, institutional capacity building, energy, transport, the environment and IT.

Formal agreements and financial contributions

• The agreement establishing the Spanish Trust Fund was signed on July 25, 1995, for an amount of Spanish Pesetas 50 million per calendar year.
• On October 8, 1997, a letter of agreement from the President of the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade increased the funds allocated to the technical cooperation agreement with the African Development Bank and the African Development Fund with US$ 1 Million.          
• Spain supports the African Water Facility which is hosted by the AfDB with a financial contribution of € 12 million over the 2008-2010 period.
• Spain provides technical assistance to the Bank in partnerships and cooperation. Spain is also exploring possibilities of providing technical assistance to Bank initiatives and programmes in various sectors, including water and sanitation, infrastructure and private sector development and environment sustainability.

Focal point for the AfDB-Spain partnership and cooperation

Sabrina Hadjadj Aoul
Senior Cooperation Officer
Partnerships and Cooperation Unit (ORRU)
Email: s.hadjadjaoul@afdb.org
Phone: (216) 71 10 3698