The Directorate-General of International Financing is the governmental body through which Spain's permanent relationships with the multilateral financial institutions are channelled. It contributes to the formulation of the policies of those institutions and to the management of the country's external debt. It is also responsible for analysing the new international financial architecture and Spain's strategy therein.
The growing influence of Spain's economy in the international financial arena and the increase of the country's commitments as regards international financial cooperation led to the creation of this administrative centre as part of the restructuring of the Ministry of the Economy which took place on 20 July 2000.
In that context, the Directorate-General of International Financing implements the government's political ambition of promoting the presence of Spain among the multilateral financial institutions. It does so in three ways, namely taking part in the definition of the development policies of the institutions in question, facilitating access to their tenders and bidding processes for Spanish companies and seeking to enhance the presence of Spanish professionals within such organisations, in terms of numbers and rank.
The Directorate-General is also responsible for monitoring the financing requirements of the international monetary system, as well as for the prevention of and, if applicable, the study of corrective measures for crises, to be applied in coordination with the International Monetary Fund.
Additionally, it represents the interests of Spain's society and government in the forums that devise the financial and development strategies used as a framework for international relationships, a field in which Spain has pledged to play a progressively greater role.