Triangular Cooperation Fund set up between Portugal - Latin America - Africa

Portugal and the Ibero-American Secretariat-General signed a Memorandum of Understand to set up a Triangular Cooperation Fund between Portugal, Latin America, and Africa.

The memorandum was signed by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Francisco André, and the Ibero-American Secretary-General Andrés Allamand in a ceremony held at the SEGIB head office in Madrid.

The Fund set-up had already been announced by the Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa during the Summit of Ibero-American Heads of State and Government last March in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic).

The Fund is set up together with the SEGIB, which will be charged with running it for an indicative three-year period and will have an initial allocation of 1 million euros, made available by Portugal through the Camões Institute for Language and Cooperation.

This Fund will support cooperation projects and initiatives focused on developing strategic capabilities and the exchange of experiences between the Ibero-American countries in fields such as educaiton, health, gender equality, climate change, food security, culture, social cohesion, digital transformation, and education for development.

The projects and initiatives will be presented by Portuguese or Latin American public or private bodies and will be chosen in a call for tender. The first call under this Fund will be at the end of 2023 and the period to implement the projects and initiatives will run until 31 December 2025.

On the signature, the Portuguese Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Francisco André, highlighted that "setting up this Fund is an important reinforcement of Portugal’s participation in the Ibero-American cooperation and likewise contributes to bringing two regions closer – Latin America and Africa, which are strategic and detrimental to the future of human development".

The Ibero-American Secretary-General Andrés Allamand said that the importance of Portugal’s contribution resides in the fact that "it allows us to boost triangular cooperation in areas that are fundamental to our region and advance in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals, offering the Ibero-American and African countries the opportunity to exchange their experiences and developing their skills in these areas".