Luxembourg's development cooperation - Annual report 2016

2016 was dedicated to implementing the Sustainable Development Goals and was therefore a pivotal year for Luxembourg’s development cooperation, with the start of a new generation of Indicative Cooperation Programmes (ICP) in Cabo Verde, Niger and Laos, together with the signature of a new ICP in Burkina Faso. In the new ICPs, sector-based concentration is strengthened further in the areas of expertise of Luxembourg’s development cooperation: health, education and vocational training and rural and local development. Implementation modalities have been reviewed in order to respond even better to the inclusivity requirements of Agenda 2030 and the aid effectiveness principles. The watchwords in these new ICPs are: alignment; sector-based concentration; multi-actor partnerships and results-based management.

After a difficult period in more than one respect in West Africa, development cooperation relations with several partners in the region have been normalised and the programmes have been able to be re-launched in 2016 in a more politically stable context but in a security environment that is still worrying.

In Asia and Central America, 2016 was the year when Luxembourg’s development cooperation withdrew from Vietnam and El Salvador. As had been planned for several years, since both countries had attained the status of middle-income countries they are no longer among the preferred partner countries of Luxembourg’s development cooperation. Therefore, they no longer have an ICP, but some projects are continuing there in order to consolidate the knowledge gained and to promote the creation of links that go beyond development cooperation.

Since the list of partner countries has been reduced to seven, Minister Romain Schneider requested the launch of exploratory research into development cooperation in some of the least developed or most fragile countries where Luxembourg’s development cooperation might provide some added value. This research will be carried out in 2017 and will be used as a basis for discussions on possible new partner countries.

The coordination of activities in the partner countries, particularly with the other technical and financial partners, as well as alignment with national priorities, requires a presence on the ground in addition to one at the political level. In line with the new approach, Luxembourg’s embassy in Hanoi has been moved to Vientiane and Luxembourg has opened diplomatic representation in Bamako in Mali and in Niamey in Niger. Both embassy offices are linked to the embassies in Dakar and Ougadougou respectively and enable us to monitor the ICPs closely in both countries.

With the implementation of Agenda 2030 by a multitude of actors, the role of the embassies in developing countries is changing significantly. Although the coordination and monitoring of development cooperation programmes had been their main focus over time, they are now assisting with commercial relationships with the private sector and the supervision of activities connected with international financing to combat climate change, as well as working increasingly closely with local civil society in the partner countries. The political context is becoming increasingly complex, due in particular to the issues of security and migration and regional integration.