4th Global Forum on Aid Effectiveness

Towards a new global partnership for development

Ownership, harmonisation, transparency, results and mutual accountability were the keywords guiding the 4th Global Forum on Aid Effectiveness. Held in Busan, South Korea, from 29 November to 1 December, the forum brought together senior representatives of governments, civil society and the private sector. The Swiss delegation was led by SDC Director-General Martin Dahinden. After three days of discussions, the States adopted an agreement that paves the way for a new global partnership for development.

Aid effectiveness: progress in some areas
After the Paris Declaration in 2005 and the Accra Agenda for Action in 2008, the international community continues to work towards greater aid effectiveness. With this in mind, it has recognised the need to help recipient States assume genuine ownership of the development process. This ownership goes hand in hand with the introduction of instruments to ensure transparency and results-based management. Moreover, the countries signatory to the Paris Declaration have committed themselves to harmonising their practices, this is an important prerequisite for greater aid effectiveness.

Despite these commitments, it must be acknowledged that results have fallen short of expectations. Consequently, Busan was an opportunity to reflect on the obstacles to greater aid effectiveness and on ways to overcome them. Another key challenge for the Busan forum was to recognise the diversity of development actors as well as models and forms of cooperation.

Changing the constellation of actors: towards development effectiveness
In recent years, new actors have become increasingly involved in development cooperation efforts without having actually been integrated in the Paris integration process. On the one hand, private actors, in some cases major ones, have joined their efforts to those of governments. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is the best known example. On the other hand, a number of emerging States, such as Brazil or China, now have significant cooperation programmes.

The Busan Declaration: a turning point
After three days of debate, the international community agreed on a framework that integrates all actors: traditional donors, South-South cooperation representatives, emerging countries, civil society representatives, and private foundations. This represents a turning point for development cooperation: the Busan Declaration must now be translated into actions to increase aid effectiveness. Switzerland, for its part, will draft an action plan that will aim to fulfil its commitment to a new global partnership for effective development cooperation.

Having one of the fastest growing economies in the world, over the past fifty years South Korea has gone from being a beneficiary of international cooperation to being a donor country. The fact that it is hosting the 4th Global Forum on Aid Effectiveness in 2011 is rich in symbolism.

Additional Information and Documents

Internal Links

Effectiveness
To capitalize on its experience and improve its development programmes and projects, SDC needs to ev...

External Links

DAC - The Development Assistance Committee (OECD)
http://www.oecd.org/dac
4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan
http://www.busanhlf4.org

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