SPAIN'S SECRETARY OF STATE FOR AID SUPPORTS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 000475

SIPDIS

STATE PASS USAID

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID PGOV PREL SP KBIO
SUBJECT: SPAIN'S SECRETARY OF STATE FOR AID SUPPORTS
GREATER DONOR COOPERATION



1. Summary. In a February 4 meeting Charge and Spanish
Secretary of State for International Cooperation Leire Pajin

SIPDIS
discussed Spain's international assistance program including
electoral assistance to Iraq and forgivneess of Iraqi debt.
Pajin characterzed Spain's effort in responding to the
Southeast Asian tsunami as a major Spanish international
priority. Pajin said Spain,s new four-year Aid Plan, to be
presented to congress at the end of the month, will include
Afghanistan as a priority; continue to work on projects in
Latin America and North Africa; and direct Spain,s increased
aid budget to poorer countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Pajin
noted that Spain seeks greater coordination with other donor
countries including the U.S. Pajin's aid philosophy is that
effectiveness is more important than the cash value of aid
granted. End Summary.


2. Charge and Econoffs met with Spanish Secretary of State
for International Assistance (and President of Spain,s aid
agency AECI) Leire Pajin Iraola. Pajin discussed Spain,s
contribution to the tsunami relief effort in which she took
significant personal responsibility. She also described key
points in Spain,s new four-year Aid Plan in which
Afghanistan has been named a priority country; North Africa
and Latin America will continue to be priorities; and a
significant amount of new money will be directed to work in
Sub-Saharan Africa. Pajin was positive about cooperating
more closely with the U.S. and other donor countries.

Afghanistan and Iraq
--------------


3. Pajin, who serves as president of Spain's aid agency
(AECI),identified herself as the official responsible person
for organizing Iraq reconstruction assistance. She noted
Spain,s engagement during the election and her government,s
ambitious forgiveness of Iraqi debt as areas where Spain has
been of assistance. Pajin said that Afghanistan was a
priority country in the new Aid Plan. AECI remains concerned
with the security situation on the ground in Afghanistan and
is therefore moving slowly.

Tsunami Relief

SIPDIS
--------------


4. Pajin took a leading role in Spain,s tsunami relief
efforts with the AECI leading the Spanish response.
Pajin,s office coordinated with the autonomous communities,
Spain,s ministries of Industry and Defense and
Spanish NGOs. She traveled to Sri Lanka, Thailand and
Indonesia with Foreign Minister Moratinos after the
disaster. She said that the trip was the most horrible visit
of her life after witnessing the destruction
and suffering first hand. She said that AECI would continue
to play a role in the region during the
construction phase, coordinating with the Ministry of
Industry and Commerce, which will disburse the ODA
credits for infrastructure projects. AECI assistance would
continue to be directed to areas where Spain
has expertise such as resurrecting the fishing industry in
Banda Aceh and tourism around the region.

New Four-Year Aid Plan
--------------


5. Pajin briefly mentioned key points from Spain,s new
four-year Aid Plan that will be presented to parliament later
this month. She noted that Latin America and North Africa
would remain as key regions for Spain,s international
assistance, but that the increase in new funds would be
directed primarily to poorer countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.


AECI Interested in Cooperation
--------------


6. Charge questioned Pajin on the possibility of closer
cooperation between Spain and the U.S. on aid efforts. Pajin
appreciated the incredible level of cooperation and
assistance given to Spanish humanitarian efforts by the U.S.
armed forces in the tsunami region as evidence that
cooperation was possible. Pajin said that closer cooperation
with other donor countries was a new directive in the Aid
Plan. She mentioned that AECI would be willing to look more
closely at project or donor coordination to ensure that donor
countries are not duplicating efforts in developing
countries. AECI is fully willing to consider cooperation
with USAID on development issues.

Philosophy
--------------


7. Pajin offered two key insights into the GOS's philosophy
on international aid. When discussing the amounts of aid
offered by countries after the tsunami, she argued that
humanitarian assistance is not a competition. She believes
that donor countries should not focus on numbers, but on what
can be accomplished on the ground. Pajin also focused on
efficacy as the key goal in any aid effort Spain joins. She
mentioned that Spain would focus on areas where Spaniards
have expertise and experience such as the aforementioned
fishing and tourism efforts in SE Asia.

Comment
--------------


8. Pajin is the youngest Secretary of State within the GOS
and hails from an activist background. She has a reputation
as a radical party stalwart. In our meeting however, she was
well prepared and very knowledgeable about Spanish aid policy
and efforts without displaying any particular ideological
bent. She continues to hold a seat on the Socialist Party,s
executive committee and is known to be very close to
President Zapatero. We believe she is influential in the
development of Spain's aid plan, which is important to us
since her agency controls Spain's humanitarian assistance to
Iraq and Afghanistan. The new Aid Plan,s effort to increase
aid to Sub-Saharan Africa was probably achieved through her
influence, as was Spain,s aggressive response to the tsunami
disaster. Her rumored radical leanings aside, she appears to
have adjusted well to the responsibilities the vice-minister
level post she holds and seems willing to work with the U.S.
in key areas such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

Bio Note
--------------


9. At 28 years old, Pajin is the youngest of Spain's
secretaries of state (vice minister equivalent). Before

SIPDIS
being named to the international assistance post, she was the
youngest elected member of Spain's Parliament when she won a
seat in Alicante (Valencia region) in the 2000 general
elections. She was the first member of Parliament to have
lived her whole life in a democratic Spain, having been born
in 1976, the year after Franco's death. Pajin is known as a
party loyalist rather than a technical expert, and was one of
the key supporters of President Zapatero's assumption of the
Socialist leadership. Her reputation as a non-technical
politician aside, she was the Socialist parties
representative for NGO relations from 2000-2004, a
responsibility that serves her well in her new international
assistance role. She remains close to her former
constituents, and left our meeting for a flight to Alicante
to meet with her former contacts.
MANZANARES