ABSTRACT
In merely two decades, Spain has radically changed its position in the international community. As recently as 1979, Spain was still an aid recipient, yet in 2003 it was ranked as the world's eleventh largest donor, contributing 2.9 per cent of the total aid of the OECD's Development Assistance Committee (DAC). In that time, it had to create the human resources, instruments and institutions necessary to develop a framework for foreign aid. As a result there were great improvements in the Spanish aid system, but remarkable shortcomings remain, such as a lack of integration between financial and technical co-operation instruments, unsuitable geographical and sectoral orientations of aid disbursement and limited technical capacity and management ability. Lack of experience and the weakness of political commitment to aid policy are the main reasons for some of these defects. This chapter briefly explains the evolution of Spanish aid by means of a critical analysis of its main characteristics. Thus, it points out some of the reform tasks involved that the new government, elected in March 2004, will need to face.
