COFIDES attended the meeting of the CDE’s Spanish Institutional Network - held on 12 and 13 February in Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Canary Islands) - with the objective of establishing a platform with the different Spanish organizations interested in developing the private sector in ACP countries. The meeting was organized by PROEXCA - the organization in charge of foreign trade and international business development for the Canary Islands Community -.

The starting point of this platform was the CDE’s European Institutional Network, which has incorporated further organizations interested in the ACP countries. The CDE meanwhile constitutes a link between the Spanish platform and other European or ACP institutions. The creation of the platform also aims to increase the opportunities for collaboration between the CDE and Spain.

The main purposes of this platform are described as: identifying the specific skills of each institution and its role in the platform, increasing communication between all the members, coordinating the actions to be carried out to increase efficiency and avoid duplication, establishing joint programs with Spanish or European institutions.

> CDE is the Centre for the Development of Enterprise. CDE is an ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific)/EU joint Institution created in the framework of the Cotonou Agreement. CDE’s financial resources mainly come from the European Development Fund (EDF). Its objective is to ensure the development of professional ACP enterprises operating in the private sector.

CDE operates in complementarity with the European Commission, the Secretariat of the ACP Group of States and the European Investment Bank in the framework of support to the private sector.