Albares urges Commissioner Síkela to continue promoting international cooperation within the European Union

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, greets the European Union Commissioner for International Partnerships, Josef Síkela

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, has held a meeting in Madrid with the European Union Commissioner for International Partnerships, Josef Síkela, with whom he reaffirmed the moral obligation and political responsibility to promote European cooperation.

Given the challenges facing the European Union's external action, Albares emphasised that cooperation for sustainable development must be a priority within the new European Commission's EU budget. In the same vein, he said that solidarity must prevail and that Europeans cannot abandon their partners.

In this regard, they were able to discuss the promotion of the Global Gateway initiative, partnerships with strategic partners and forthcoming events of international importance, such as the third EU-African Union ministerial meeting on 21 May.

Albares and Síkela also took the opportunity to review the new Multiannual Financial Framework, with regard to which the minister advocated protecting the financing of the European Union's sustainable development cooperation policies, one of the main diplomatic instruments that the EU club has in its relations with a large number of its partners.

In this regard, the Minister for Foreign Affairs pointed out that the suspension of foreign aid and the real risk of USAID's definitive closure make the EU a necessary actor, as the world's leading donor in the humanitarian and development field. According to the Spanish minister, the EU must assume clear leadership in redefining the global development system and in building a more sustainable and efficient multilateral system.

Seville Summit

At the same time, Albares recalled that Spain seeks to contribute to the success of development cooperation policies at all levels, including Spain's leadership at the next International Conference on Financing for Development, which will take place from 30 June to 3 July 2025.

This Conference comes at a crucial moment for development and multilateralism, and Foreign Affairs is promoting an ambitious but also realistic agreement, as well as a follow-up mechanism, which will allow for the Sustainable Development Goals to be achieved five years before the 2030 Agenda expires.

Non official translation