Development cooperation
Belgium strives for a peaceful and secure world where poverty is a thing of the past and where there are development opportunities for all. Our efforts therefore complement those of the international community to achieve sustainable development and a fair world.
The main issues on which Belgium focuses are as follows:
- Millennium Development Goals
- Agriculture and Food Security
- Environment and Climate Change
- Migration and Development
- Education and Training
- Basic Healthcare
- Basic Infrastructure
- Society Building
- Gender: Equal Rights and Opportunities for Men and Women
- Aid for Trade
- Children's Rights
- Private Sector
Partner countries
Belgium gives bilateral aid (i.e. aid that is provided by one country directly to another) to 18 partner countries in Asia, Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and the Middle East. The focus of our cooperation is always in Central Africa.
In its bilateral cooperation, Belgian concentrates its aid on a specific number of sectors:
1° Healthcare
2° Education and Training
3° Agriculture and Food Security
4° Basic Infrastructure
5° Society Building
Millennium Development Goals
In 2000, Belgium signed the United Nations Millennium Declaration, which commits the international community to achieving eight Millennium Goals by 2015. Those eight goals are the main framework for guiding Belgium’s Development Cooperation efforts.
0.7% benchmark
Belgium strives to spend 0.7% of its Gross National Product on development cooperation. In recent years, it has consistently increased its expenditure on official development aid and is therefore clearly making progress towards reaching the 0.7% benchmark.
Aid must become more efficient
In 2005, Belgium signed up to the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. An efficient development policy leading to better results is ultimately the key goal. Consequently, Belgium is focusing less on short- and medium-term results, and more on impact and outcomes in the long term