El Salvador has become a reference point for cooperation and relations with strategic partners during the administration of President Nayib Bukele, which has allowed the development of projects in various areas for the benefit of the population.
Since the creation of the Salvadoran Agency for International Cooperation (ESCO), the agency has worked with all government ministries to promote support with other nations.
“There are many countries that support El Salvador, there is a long list of 25 partners that ratify the support they give to our country and the confidence in President Nayib Bukele’s administration. We have Mexico, the Kingdom of Spain, Italy, the United States, Colombia, Peru, Chile; recently we signed with Costa Rica, Guatemala, our Central American countries. With China, we have important agreements. It is important to note that in several projects we have had agreements, El Salvador also offers cooperation,” said Karla de Palma, director of ESCO.
She highlighted that, in the Central American region, El Salvador is the only country that has a presidential-level cooperation agency, a fact that could be a reference for other nations to create similar institutions, for which El Salvador could provide cooperation.
Karla de Palma pointed out that there are cooperation projects in health, education, tourism, climate change, atomic energy, and other sectors that have been enhanced due to the results obtained.
Two of the cooperation projects with Mexico that are about to begin a second phase are: “Building the Future” and “Sowing Life” due to the success achieved. Through these projects, 10,000 young people have benefited in each of them.
Likewise, in the health sector, she stated that, within the framework of the pandemic, cooperation was received to coordinate actions for the attention of the health emergency at that time. Work lines were drawn with the Ministry of Health (Minsal) and cooperating partners.
“When the Hospital El Salvador was created, through the support of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, this is another modality of South-South and triangular cooperation, virtual multifunctional classrooms were established within the facilities of the Hospital El Salvador, where health workers can receive training from abroad and they can also provide training,” said the head of ESCO.
In this same field, the Development Partners’ Table was created to interlocute where the partners are betting in the health area, but also to suggest where they can get involved in coordination with the government for project formulation.
In addition, in the energy sector, El Salvador is working with cooperating partners to enhance renewable energy and the link to climate change.
“Since the agency was created, we are the reference point for the International Atomic Energy Agency, an organization that works on the peaceful use of nuclear energy. We had the first national workshop on Nuclear Law in El Salvador in February this year, in which more than 10 government institutions participated. To date, with the Accredited Inspection Bodies (OIA), there are different projects with government institutions: University of El Salvador, Ministry of Environment, National Administration of Aqueducts and Sewers, Ministry of Agriculture, and Ministry of Health, because the organization supports cancer issues for radiotherapy and prevention and treatment of cancer,” Karla de Palma said.