Policy Updates

From June 9-13, 2025, the 3^rd UN Ocean Conference was hosted in Nice, France, ending with over 170 countries adopting a joint declaration committing to urgent measures for ocean conservation and sustainable use.

The event featured 55 heads of state and government as well as upwards of 15,000 participants from civil society, business, and science. The Nice Ocean Action Plan, combining this declaration with voluntary pledges, was said to mark renewed global political will for marine protection.

Key commitments included:

• A European Commission pledge of EUR1 billion (US$1.1 billion) for ocean conservation;
• A pledge by French Polynesia to create the world’s largest marine protected area;
• A pledge by New Zealand of US$52 million for Pacific Ocean governance;
• A pledge by Italy of EUR6.5 million (US$7 million) to strengthen Coast Guard surveillance in marine protected areas and on oil platforms;
• A pledge by Spain to establish five new marine protected areas, aiming to safeguard 25% of its marine territory;
• A pledge by Germany of EUR100 million (US$115 million) for Baltic and North Sea munitions clearance;
• The launch of a Coral Bond for reef conservation by Indonesia, WB, and partners.

37 countries, led by Panama and Canada, launched the High Ambition Coalition for a Quiet Ocean, while Canada pledged US$9 million to the Ocean Risk and Resilience Alliance. UN agencies and global partners also launched a co-design process for One Ocean Finance to unlock billions in new financing from ocean-dependent industries and blue economy sectors.

Nineteen more states ratified the Marine Biodiversity Treaty, bringing total signatures to 136 and ratifications to 50 states, plus the EU. Ten more ratifications are needed for the Agreement to enter into force. The 4^th UN Ocean Conference, in 2028, will be co-hosted by Chile and the Republic of Korea.

On June 10, 2025, Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union, and Cooperation José Manuel Albares, presented the latest milestones in the reform of AECID, following the approval of the Law on Sustainable Development Cooperation in February 2023 and the agency’s new statute in December 2024.

The reforms are intended make AECID more strategic, digital, transparent, and accessible, with a clear focus on impact and coordination. The agency is strengthening its workforce, launching a call for 35 new project manager positions at headquarters and in its global offices, and improving working conditions to attract diverse talent.

The new Advisory Council, established in May 2025, held its first session at the event. The group's mission is to bring together experts from international organizations, academia, and civil society to guide AECID’s strategy. The council includes:

• Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, AU Special Envoy for Food Systems and former Prime Minister of Niger;
• Carolina Jiménez Sandoval, activist for democracy and human rights and president of the Washington Office on Latin America;
• Mario Pezzini, Special Adviser for Social and Human Sciences to UNESCO and former Director of the OECD Development Centre;
• Andrea Meza Murillo, Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification UNCCD and former Minister of Environment of Costa Rica;
• José Antonio Sanahuja, Professor of International Relations at Complutense University of Madrid;
• Paula Marcela Moreno, former Minister of Culture of Colombia and president of Manos Visibles;
• Megumi Muto, Senior Executive Director and Deputy Director of Sustainability at Mizuho Financial Group and former Vice President of the Japanese cooperation agency; and
• Paula Gil Leyva, president of Doctors Without Borders Spain.

The changes are part of a broader reform of Spanish Cooperation, including the Master Plan for 2024–2027 and new rights for over 2,700 Spanish partners worldwide.

On May 21, 2025, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares met with Dominican Foreign Minister Roberto Álvarez in Madrid to discuss their strong bilateral relations and regional issues in Latin America, highlighting Spain’s 35-year cooperation with the Dominican Republic and over EUR125million (US$135 million) committed to development assistance focused on institutional strengthening, gender equality, and reducing inequalities.

Albares emphasized Spain’s commitment to strengthening economic and investment ties in the Dominican Republic. Discussions also included Spain’s support for Haiti’s stability through a EUR4 million (US$4 million) contribution to the Multinational Security Support Mission, advocating for its conversion into a UN peacekeeping operation.

The ministers reviewed upcoming international events in Spain, including the 4^th International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville and the 2026 Ibero-American Summit in Madrid.

On April 18, 2025, the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced a 12% increase in Spain’s ODA for 2024, surpassing EUR4 billion (US$4.3 billion), reflecting Spain’s commitment to strengthening international cooperation and sustainable development.

This milestone aligns with Spain’s broader strategy to become a global leader in development aid, reaffirming its dedication to achieving the UN SDGs. The increase in ODA funding highlights Spain’s focus on addressing global challenges such as poverty, inequality, and climate change through enhanced multilateral and bilateral efforts.

The Ministry celebrated this achievement as a step towards meeting its long-term goal of allocating 0.7% of gross national income to ODA by 2030, as outlined in Spain’s Master Plan for Development Cooperation.

On October 24, 2024, on the sidelines of the WB Group and the IMF Annual Meetings, Spain's Minister of Economy, Trade and Business Carlos Cuerpo announced an early financial commitment of EUR400 million (US$430 million) to the IDA, the WBs fund for LICs, for the period 2025-2028.

This early pledge announcement represents a 37% increase compared to the Spanish contribution to IDA’s previous replenishment cycle for the period from July 2022 to June 2025 and ubicates Spain’s overall contribution to the organization at EUR5 billion (US$5.4 billion). The announcement comes weeks ahead of the IDA21 replenishment meeting that will take place in December and represents a powerful signal for other donors to meet IDA’s call to action for increasing contributions by at least 20%.

Cuerpo took advantage of the announcement to underline Spain’s strong commitment to advance SDGs in vulnerable countries as well as to tackle poverty and inequities worldwide.

He urged other donor countries to increase funding to IDA but also to bend official, public loans, through the inclusion of contingency clauses, in order to free up resources in middle- and low-income partner countries.

He mentioned that the 4^th International Conference on Financing for Development is an opportunity for rethinking global financial architecture and advancing sustainable development.

On September 25, 2024, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez addressed the 79^th UNGA plenary session to review Spain’s foreign priorities and to underline the need to strengthen peace, democracy, and sustainable development worldwide.

Sánchez announced that Spain will increase its funding contributions to the UN system by at least 25% during the period 2025-2027. He emphasized the importance of reinforcing multilateral institutions and development finance to accelerate the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development.

He referenced the 4^th International Conference on Financing for Development that will be held in Seville, Spain in June, 2025 and mentioned the current reform process of the Spanish development cooperation system.

Sánchez underlined Africa as a priority region for Spain’s foreign action and took the opportunity to talk about infant mortality and gender equality.

On September 23rd, 2024, Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez made an address at the Summit of the Future during the 79^th UNGA, which gathered several world leaders from donor and partner countries and high-level representatives from multilateral organizations.

Sánchez advocated for increased and better international cooperation to reach 2030 SDGs. In turn, Sánchez underlined the need for strengthening multilateral institutions as well as MDBs. He also called for the implementation of a new global tax upon great fortunes.

Prior to the 79^th UNGA, Sánchez met with the UN Secretary General António Guterres and attended a breakfast organized by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz together with other social-democrat leaders such as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Brazilian President Lula da Silva to discuss global governance, multilateralism, climate change, and AI.

On September 10, 2024, the European Commission’s HERA facilitated the delivery of nearly 100,000 mpox vaccine doses to the DRC, marking the first shipment of its kind to the country.

An additional 100,000 doses are expected soon, contributing to the total of 215,000 vaccines pledged to combat the mpox outbreak in Africa. Team Europe will donate a total of 566,500 mpox vaccine doses to affected African countries, with contributions from France, Germany, Spain, Malta, Portugal, Luxembourg, Croatia, Austria, and Poland.

The EC also released EUR1 million (US$1 million) in humanitarian assistance to support care, prevention, epidemiological surveillance, risk communication and distribution of kits in the DRC.

On August 29, 2024, amidst a domestic political crisis due to mass migration to the Canary Islands, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez traveled to Western Africa to meet with heads of state from Mauritania, The Gambia, and Senegal to discuss sustainable development, security, and irregular migration.

Sánchez announced the launch of the new African Progress Alliance, a joint initiative between Spain and Senegal aimed at fostering private investments to support sustainable development and strengthen economic opportunities for the youth in Western Africa.

In addition, AECID approved the new Country Partnership Framework with Senegal in June 2024, to disburse up to EUR180 million (US$193 million) in ODA in the country between 2024-2028.

On July 24, 2024, the cabinet of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez approved the Master Plan for Sustainable Development and Global Solidarity 2024-2027 to set strategic priorities for Spain’s development cooperation.

In coordination with the Spanish Law for Sustainable Development Cooperation and Global Solidarity, approved in February 2023, the new Master Plan includes the objective of increasing Spain’s ODA/GNI to 0.7% by 2030. The Master Plan sets different ODA growth estimates for the period between 2024 and 2030. In 2027, for the lowest scenario, Spain’s ODA/GNI would reach 0.40%, and for the highest scenario ODA/GNI would reach 0.55%.

Spain outlined focus on three different development areas:

• Social transition, including democratic governance, global health and health systems, food security and nutrition, quality education, gender equality and women empowerment, culture and development;
• Ecological transition, including climate adaptation and mitigation, clean energies, biodiversity, water, and sanitation; and
• Economic transition, including rural development, inclusive economic development, digitalization.

Geographically, priority regions for Spain’s development cooperation include SSA, in particular the Sahel regions and Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking countries, North Africa and Middle East, and Latin America and the Caribbean.