Stakeholders Meeting Development Cooperation

5th Stakeholders Meeting of the Belgian Development Cooperation

Brussels, Tuesday 8 May 2012

Policy coherence for development

Program 

Although development opportunities for the developing countries are mainly determined by the national policy of the governments concerned, the importance of the international factors should not be underestimated. As a matter of fact, the international markets as well as the international policies in the matter of trade, investments and agriculture will often be decisive for the parameters within which the national policy can produce results. In most cases, the development policy as such has no direct influence on those international parameters, whereas the latter often have more importance than development aid. Some Belgian policy competences that fall outside the competences of our Minister of Development Cooperation are linked to these international factors and influence both the fight against poverty and sustainable development in countries where the Belgian development cooperation is active. Hence the importance of  policy coherence for development.

Willing to attach proper importance to the advancement of this policy coherence, the new government has announced in the government policy statement its intention to establish an Interministerial Conference for Policy coherence.

For that reason “Policy coherence for Development” was the core theme of this year’s Stakeholders Meeting.

This (broad) theme was addressed in the morning during a plenary debate following the official opening session.

For the afternoon debate, working groups have focused on three specific themes:

• Group 1: The importance of policy coherence for food security and the right to food
• Group 2: The importance of policy coherence for trade and development
• Group 3: Which institutional structures for assuring policy coherence for development?

The recommendations or conclusions of the Stakeholders Meeting can help inspiring and realizing the plans of the government to establish an Interministerial Conference for Policy coherence.

The Stakeholders Meeting is an annual forum organized by the Belgian Development Cooperation. It brings together policy makers, public actors, civil society, politicians and academics. It is designed to provide information on the international development efforts and to reflect on the current and future Belgian policy options and activities in this regard.

Press release of Minister Paul Magnette