Luxembourg's development cooperation - Annual report 2018

In addition to the priority partner countries, Luxembourg is involved in eight other partner countries, where its development intervention is essentially based on the project approach. Those countries are Kosovo, El Salvador, Vietnam, Mongolia, Myanmar, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, as well as the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The project approach, compared to the more integrated approach in the Indicative Cooperation Programmes (ICP), offers more flexibility to respond to any challenges and needs in countries where Luxembourg has no operational presence or a limited one. The project approach also provides more scope to adapt Luxembourg’s support to the directions and priorities of its foreign policy and to be an intermediate or temporary approach as the status of a partner country changes.

In Kosovo, where Luxembourg has had a presence since the end of the conflict in the former Yugoslavia in 1999, activities have been carried out as part of the bilateral cooperation agreement between the two countries (2017-2020). 2018 was marked by the launch of two new bilateral programmes in the field of European integration and vocational and technical training.

In El Salvador, which was a priority partner country of Luxembourg’s development cooperation until 2015, the development progress made by the country has enabled a new partnership approach consisting, among other things, of support for South-South and triangular cooperation in collaboration with other Latin American countries. Furthermore, Luxembourg is committed to co-financing the multi-dimensional examination of El Salvador under the auspices of the OECD.

In Vietnam, which was also a priority partner country of Luxembourg until 2015, the diversification of relations has continued and, among other things, in addition to the support from the Ministry responsible for sustainable development, has affected the fields of innovation, research and the finance sector. In Mongolia, where Luxembourg has been active in the health sector since 2001, a new bilateral agreement was signed in 2018 to increase the budget for a telemedicine project, in particular for the treatment and prevention of cardiovascular illnesses. In partnership with the House of Training, the Luxembourg agency for financial technology transfer, support has continued in the financial sector via targeted training courses for young management staff of the Mongolian Central Bank and Mongolian commercial banks.

In Myanmar, where the humanitarian situation in 2018 remained very worrying following recurrent attacks on human rights suffered in the main by the Rohingya populations, Luxembourg decided to postpone the planned signature of a general cooperation agreement. However, in order not to damage the populations further, Luxembourg’s development cooperation continued the implementation of two pilot projects, one in the field of vocational training linked with tourism and the other in the field of rural development in the eastern part of Shan state, adjacent to the border with Laos. 2018 was also marked by the financing of the second phase of a project in the field of “Constitution-building” implemented by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA).

In Afghanistan and Tajikistan, where Luxembourg is not active on a direct bilateral level, financial support is diverted via the PATRIP foundation (Pakistan Afghanistan Tajikistan Regional Integration Programme) for the implementation of projects in the water and sanitation sectors in rural areas and crisis and disaster prevention.

Finally, in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Luxembourg continued in 2018 to support the projects of four Palestinian NGOs essentially in the sectors of sexual health and reproduction, agriculture and continuing training, as well as in the field of the promotion of inclusive, transparent governance.