Regional cooperation among Ibero-American countries has experienced a decline since the onset of the pandemic. According to a report, from 2007 to 2023, more than half of the countries in the region have surpassed 1,000 initiatives, with Mexico and Colombia each standing out with over 2,000 projects. The 22 members of the Ibero-American community have partnered at different times with 135 countries from the Global South, 37 from the North, and 81 multilateral organizations.
During the presentation of the report, Chancellor Sommerfeld highlighted that this report serves as a benchmark that helps to globalize Ibero-American cooperation, underscoring the commitment of the countries in the region to overcome existing gaps. For his part, Allamand mentioned that Ibero-American cooperation is admired by many and reflects the best of the region.
One of the concerns raised is the limited number of initiatives related to science and technology in the last 17 years. In 2023, south-south and triangular cooperation initiatives among Ibero-American countries grew by 10% compared to the previous year, reaching 914 projects. However, these figures still do not match pre-pandemic levels.
Bilateral cooperation remains the central modality of exchanges, representing 76.6% of the total, while triangular and regional cooperation account for 14.8% and 8.6% respectively. Sectors such as health and agriculture have more than 1,200 projects each, while issues like the environment, disaster management, and security and defense have fewer than 600 projects each.
Six countries, including Chile, Argentina, Peru, Cuba, Brazil, and El Salvador, have surpassed 1,500 initiatives, while another 4 countries have exceeded 1,000. In total, 10,432 initiatives have taken place involving 239 countries and organizations, with only 3% of these projects related to future topics.
Representatives from different Ibero-American countries have emphasized the importance of increasing cooperation in areas such as science, technology, and innovation, as well as in projects related to indigenous peoples, which currently represent less than 2% of the initiatives. They urge to reinforce the focus on these fronts to advance regional cooperation.
