Spain
has announced an alliance between the Mexican Government and Spanish companies with operations in Mexico, to contribute to the reconstruction of disaster areas after the 2017 September earthquakes.
Fernando García Casas
, Secretary of State for International Cooperation and for Ibero-America, presented in Madrid the Alliance for the Rehabilitation of Mexico After the Earthquakes, stating this was an opportunity to expand the efforts of the civil society.
The main goal of the alliance is to create mechanisms so that private Spanish companies are able to get involved in the initiatives of the Spanish Cooperation Agency (AECID) and thus contribute to rebuilding areas damaged by the earthquakes.
Immediately after the September earthquakes, Spain deployed experts of their Military Emergency Unit to undertake search & rescue operations at collapsed buildings, and over 70 Spanish companies donated economic and human resources to assist Mexico in rebuilding operations.
Furthermore, the AECID also financed the NGO Save the Children so they could offer phsycological attention to minors.
“It was a great display of unity by the members of the Spanish society,” said García Casas, who was joined by the Mexican Ambassador Roberta Lajous and representatives of Spanish coorporations with presence in Mexican territory.
The alliance is an initiative part of the Mixed Cooperation Fund Spain-Mexico , a platform created by the cooperation agencies of both countries (AECID and AMEXCID) in order to promote the sustainable development goals defines in the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations.
Among the projects related to the earthquakes to be launched by the alliance, there are initiatives to provide street lighting through solar panels in remote communities in Oaxaca , provide support to local craftspeople to reactivate regional economy , and a housing reconstruction program in which the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will also be involved.
am