The Government approves the new AECID management contract 2026-2029

The Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Courts has approved, through Order PJC/917/2026 of August 25, the Management Contract of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) for the 2026-2029 period. The regulation, signed by Minister Félix Bolaños García, is published in the Official State Gazette number 216, of September 2, 2026, and will enter into force the day after its publication, remaining in effect until December 31, 2029.

This is the second management contract in the agency’s history, following the one approved by Order PRE/1914/2009, which was in effect for one year. The proposal was approved by the Governing Council of AECID on March 23, 2026, and submitted to the ministries of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Finance, and Digital Transformation and Civil Service, whose joint proposal approved the text.

A rising budget towards 0.7%

The contract establishes an increasing budgetary path for the agency, in line with the legal objective of allocating 0.7% of the gross national income to Official Development Assistance (ODA) by 2030. The expenditure forecasts for the four-year period are as follows:

• 2026: 704.4 million euros.
• 2027: 946.5 million euros.
• 2028: 1,069.6 million euros.
• 2029: 1,240.7 million euros.

The document notes that AECID’s budget doubled between 2021 (approximately 360 million) and 2023 (over 700 million), and sets the goal for the agency to manage around 25% of Spanish ODA in 2029, compared to the current 15% and 9% in 2021. It also commits to humanitarian action reaching 10% of ODA.

Seven plans and three strategic objectives

The contract is structured around three strategic objectives and is deployed through seven action plans detailed in its Annex II:

• We Cooperate in Alliance Plan, oriented towards alliances and operational coordination.
• Modernization and Development Plan for a New Organizational Model.
• Citizenship Projection Plan.
• Digital Transformation Plan 2026-2029.
• Institutional Governance Plan.
• Human Resources Improvement Plan.
• Simplifica Plan, to streamline processes and reduce burdens.

Compliance will be measured annually through the Management Contract Compliance Index (ICG), which will weight indicators such as climate financing, feminist cooperation, budget execution, or the volume of financial cooperation operations.

Personnel and governance reform

The contract develops the new AECID Statute, approved by Royal Decree 1246/2024, and provides for a reinforcement of the workforce during the four-year period. Among the maximum personnel forecasts, the following stand out:

• Non-managerial civil service staff at headquarters: from 570 to 642 positions.
• Contractual staff at headquarters: from 84 to 96.
• Contractual staff abroad: from 235 to 298.
• Local staff: from 345 to 457.

The negotiation of a specific collective agreement, mobility between headquarters and the field, the deployment of administration heads in the Spanish Cooperation Offices, and the application of the Statute for Cooperation Workers (Royal Decree 708/2024) are also contemplated. The reform is framed within Law 1/2023, on Cooperation for Sustainable Development and Global Solidarity, and the 2024-2027 Master Plan.

The approval of this multi-year contract provides AECID with a stable framework for planning and accountability, which is key for the NGO and cooperation sector, as the objectives, instruments, and resources of Spanish cooperation will be defined for the next four years.

Source: Official State Gazette, no. 216, September 2, 2026, Sec. III, page 118458 (official reference: BOE-A-2026-18498).