Triangular Cooperation as an instrument for the partnership between Latin-America and the Caribbean and the European Union

ADELANTE 2 is an innovative program to put the relationship between the two regions into practice.

As figures and analyses show (SEGIB, 2022, p. 94), the design of Triangular Cooperation mechanisms has a great impact on this modality’s dynamism. International institutions and organizations that recognize this modality as a means to implement the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development have generated different Triangular Cooperation instruments.

The European Union (EU), for example, created the ADELANTE Program in 2015 to promote, through Triangular Cooperation, horizontal partnerships between Latin-American and Caribbean (LAC) countries, and between these and Europe, through the exchange of capacities and experiences in the search for solutions focused on sustainable development. Building on the lessons learnt during the first phase, in 2021, the EU launched ADELANTE 2 with the aim of “contributing to the fulfilment of the 2030 Agenda in Latin America and the Caribbean, through interventions that reflect the most modern approaches to Triangular Cooperation” (ADELANTE2, 2024). ADELANTE 2 is structured around three components:

Operational support component

This component is implemented through the ADELANTE Windows, which seek to mobilize and channel EU resources towards EU-LAC Triangular Cooperation partnerships or alliances, which ultimate goal is to achieve the 2030 Agenda and a more inclusive and sustainable development (ADELANTE2, 2024).

Four annual windows have been opened in the framework of ADELANTE 2 (2021 – 2024) and each one had different characteristics (in terms of budget, topics, duration). As this innovative program is intended to be agile and “responsive”, one of its main features has been the approval of short-term initiatives. The creation of the National Network of Waste Collectors of Bolivia and the initiative to Strengthen business statistics are two examples of projects that have been carried out through this modality.

Analytical support component

Through studies and public policy analysis, the UE aims to assess the impact of Triangular Cooperation between the European Union and LAC, and reflect on how to add more value. The Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB) has led this component since 2020 by implementing two projects focused on the generation of knowledge on TC.

Currently, SEGIB is carrying out the second project (Generation of Knowledge and New Instruments in EU-LAC Triangular Cooperation) and, through this initiative, it is developing specific analyses on TC (with other regions of the Global South, on environmental issues, Artificial Intelligence, etc.). This project follows up on the results of the previous initiative (An Innovative Triangular Cooperation for a New Development Agenda) and of two of its thematic studies (Indigenous Peoples and Decentralized Cooperation), through the design of concrete instruments to materialize TC in this areas.

Institutional support component

This component consists of six Triangular Cooperation funds between the EU, European stakeholders to manage financial resources (Germany through GIZ and Spain through AECID), and six Latin-American countries. All of these funds co-finance TC projects in which six selected countries participate: Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba and Uruguay.

A particular feature of how this component works is that each Fund has different characteristics and mechanisms, not only regarding the total budget, but also in relation to the European partner with which each country works, and in terms of the restriction (or not) of eligible areas of action. They also may differ in the financial instrument adopted for the execution of resources.

The innovative way to implement ADELANTE 2 across these three components is further proof of the European Union’s commitment to LAC, a diverse region with multiple development realities with which the European Union has been able to work, through the different mechanisms of this facility that promote horizontality through Triangular Cooperation.

August 2024

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Source: SEGIB based on Agencies and Directorates-General for Cooperation and ADELANTE2 (2024) and SEGIB (2022, p. 94).