Luxembourg's development cooperation - Annual report 2012

The Busan Partnership recognises the “central role played by the private sector in advancing innovation, creating wealth, income and jobs, mobilising domestic resources, and in turn contributing to poverty reduction”. This is particularly true in a country like Vietnam where the private sector is extremely dynamic. Within the context of Luxembourg’s Development Cooperation’s withdrawal strategy from this country, and with a view to a mutually beneficial outcome, a new project is being formulated in the financial sector which will promote exchanges between economic actors in Luxembourg and Vietnam.

Furthermore, the third phase of the “e-regulations” project was launched in 2012, through a national appropriation approach and the sustainability of tools put in place with the help of UNCTAD. This project will reinforce the transparency of investment procedures in Vietnam in order to facilitate domestic and international investment in employment and income-generating activities.

Another example of cooperation with the private sector is the innovative approach in Laos, by which Luxembourg’s Development Cooperation seeks to set up a public-private partnership (PPP) in order to guarantee the sustainability of the future “Lanith” hotel school (Lao National Institute for Tourism and Hospitality). The idea is that the Lanith school will benefit from financial resources generated by renting land on which a private developer could build and run a hotel.

The private sector can significantly contribute to the development of a country through the information and communication technology (ICT) sector. During the 2012 Burkina Faso Partnership Commission, the framework for the ICP’s extension included support for ICT projects. The aim is to overcome the “digital gap” in central administration, primarily in the priority sectors of health, vocational training and decentralisation through satellite connectivity via a private operator.

As for civil society, the Busan Partnership recognises that “civil society organisations (CSOs) play a vital role in enabling people to claim their rights, in promoting rights-based approaches, in shaping development policies and partnerships, and in overseeing their implementation. They also provide services in areas that are complementary to those provided by states.”

The fact that 18.45 % of Luxembourg’s ODA in 2012 was implemented by national and international NGOs demonstrates the importance accorded to civil society in this context. Support for Luxembourg’s numerous NGOs is discussed in a separate chapter; Luxembourg also supports a number of local NGOs in the partner countries and at a regional level.

The support provided to civil society in El Salvador and Senegal by Luxembourg’s Development Cooperation has already been discussed. Luxembourg also helps civil society in Nicaragua through the “Common Fund to Support Civil Society for Democratic Governance” and the “Joint Fund for Gender and Sexual Equality and Reproductive Rights”, and by supporting ASOMIF, the umbrella institution of Nicaraguan microfinance organisations. The ASOMIF project is based on the consolidation of community life, institutional reinforcement and the management of the social performance of member institutions.
Finally, support for local civil society in partner countries is also reinforced through Microproject Funds, which are at the disposition of Luxembourg’s embassies in the respective countries.