The Minister of Social Inclusion, Youth, Families, and Equality, Loles López, has participated in the World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments, held in Seville as part of the IV International Conference on Financing for Development, where she has called for greater prominence of regional and local governments in defining and implementing solutions to global challenges. She emphasized the need for them to have «tools, resources, and frameworks that recognize and strengthen their key role in transforming the world.» «It is time to move towards an international system that understands and values the transformative power of the territory,» she emphasized.
The event, promoted by United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), was attended by the Minister, as well as the Secretary of State for International Cooperation of Spain, Eva Granados; the president of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP), María José García-Pelayo, and the mayor of Seville, José Luis Sanz, among other authorities.
In her address, the Minister of Social Inclusion affirmed that «we are at a decisive moment, a stage marked by deep uncertainty, huge challenges, and alarming poverty figures.» «Simply observing the international reality confirms that the situation is concerning,» she emphasized, underscoring the importance of «reaffirming our commitments to supporting multilateralism and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the face of this situation.»
«Too often, decisions are made without effective participation from local and regional governments, despite being the ones who have a direct link with the population and firsthand knowledge of their needs and concerns,» highlighted López, who stated that the territorial proximity «grants us a precise understanding of the challenges our communities face and, at the same time, the ability to provide concrete solutions.»
Therefore, the Minister continued, «local and regional governments must take a leading role in addressing global challenges,» expressing confidence that «our effective participation can enrich the debate on improving global financing for truly sustainable development and contribute to building a more just, inclusive, and effective financial framework.»
Agenda 2023
The Minister of Social Inclusion emphasized that «current societal challenges require us to act collectively, with a unified response, the fastest and safest way to achieve our goals.»
To this end, she highlighted, «we have a global roadmap, agreed upon and approved by the United Nations: Agenda 2030,» a document whose expectations «are not being met, so it is necessary to reflect on the causes, with one of the main ones being lack of funding.»
At this point, she stressed that, often, regional and local authorities, «despite being responsible for implementing a large part of the SDGs in the territory, do not have the necessary resources for it,» and she firmly believed that «an equitable distribution of resources would yield better results.»
IV Andalusian Cooperation Plan for Development
In her address, the Minister also emphasized that, from the Andalusian Government, «we firmly believe in decentralized cooperation as a tool for resource sharing.»
In this regard, she explained that, in the period 2020-2024, «Andalusian international development cooperation has invested in people and transformations of their realities in partner countries.» «Thanks to the work in alliances of Andalusian cooperation and all its agents, we have influenced the lives of 5.7 million people, of which 64.16% have been women and girls from 28 countries,» she pointed out.
Finally, López stated that Andalusian cooperation «is structured in a joint, comprehensive, and coordinated response, reflected in the IV Andalusian Cooperation Plan for Development 2025-2028, which will be approved this week and represents the Andalusian Government’s response to contribute to the fight against poverty and in favor of sustainable human development within the framework of Agenda 2030.»
