New framework for international development

More than 150 countries and a wide range of organisations have reached agreement on a common framework for development cooperation at the high-level forum in South Korea. For the first time, China, India and Brazil are also on board.

On 1 December the Fourth High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan, South Korea adopted a declaration on more effective international development cooperation.

 “We have reached agreement on a new framework for development cooperation. The high-level forum in Busan concluded that development is about more than just aid, a view that Norway has put forward for some time. The new framework is highly compatible with Norwegian development policy,” said Minister of the Environment and International Development Erik Solheim.

The declaration places greater emphasis on results than has previously been the case. It also sets clearer requirements regarding local ownership. Developing countries are themselves to be responsible for their own development. This means that donor countries should issue fewer guidelines as to how development is to be achieved. The principles of greater transparency and mutual respect between donors and recipients of aid were also reinforced. And while in the past developed countries affiliated to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have determined the ground rules for international development, new donor countries are now also involved in the process.

 “We were particularly pleased that new donor countries such as China, India and Brazil also endorsed the Busan declaration. It shows that the shift of power that has taken place in the world is also being reflected the field of development cooperation,” said Mr Solheim.

At the high-level forum Mr Solheim promoted the issues of climate change financing and the fight against corruption and illegal capital flows. He also led the debate on results-based development assistance together with the UK, Sweden and the EU. Results-based assistance means that funding is not to be transferred until results have been achieved, a policy that Norway already practises, for example in connection with its International Climate and Forest Initiative and in the field of health.

Read the declaration from the high-level forum here (pdf).

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