US embassy cable - 05MADRID475

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