Spain defends key role of Official Development Assistance to tackle COVID-19 crisis to OECD

The DAC of the OECD is the main international forum for donor countries, the mission of which is to promote development cooperation within the framework of the 2030 Agenda.

Following the presentation of the Perspectives on Global Development report on Financing for Sustainable Development of the OECD on Monday, which included the participation of the State Secretary for Global Spain, Manuel Muñiz, the State Secretary for International Cooperation, Ángeles Moreno Bau, took part in the high-level meeting given over to the reconstruction in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, with particular emphasis on a green recovery.

Spain's proposals on the role of the DAC in the reconstruction focused on enhancing AOD instruments to strengthen health and social protection systems, particularly for millions of people who are casual workers, together with sustainable development based on a zero-carbon footprint to ensure climate resilience. "It is pressing to protect the right to food, education and employment", argued Ángeles Moreno Bau.

The High-Level Press Statement approved at the end of the meeting underlines the huge setback caused by the pandemic for the Sustainable Development Goals, Hundreds of millions of people in developing countries will lose their livelihoods and return to poverty, indicated the Perspectives on Global Development report of the OECD. The press statement underlines the need to mobilise new and more varied sources of financing for the recovery.

The Government of Spain has been backing, at various forums, the extension of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) of the G-20 until the end of 2021, and the implementation of a coordinated global initiative to swap public and private debt for climate action and human development. Spain has also advocated the full incorporation of the private sector in the response to the pandemic, and has backed the call for an extraordinary High-Level Political Forum of the United Nations in 2021 to renew the commitment to the 2030 Agenda.

The high-level meetings of the DAC seek to agree on work areas, approve reports and make recommendations, and debate the cooperation policies of its Member States. The DAC, which defines Official Development Assistance, also examines Member States of the OECD, a control process that Spain is due to be subject to in 2021.

Non official translation