📋 Tender Overview
From 19 to 21 November 2024, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia is hosting a visit by experts from the Development Cooperation Directorate (DCD) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) with the aim of assessing the compliance of Latvias development cooperation system with the criteria for the establishment of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC). The process of Latvias establishment in the OECD DAC was launched in April 2024, and is scheduled to be concluded in the first quarter of 2025.
During the visit, OECD DCD experts will meet with ministries and other state institutions involved in the development cooperation policy system, the Saeima, as well as civil society organizations. The discussions raised issues regarding the thematic and geographical priorities of Latvias development cooperation and the role of development cooperation policy in the countrys foreign policy, as well as its links with other sectors, including climate, economic, education, as well as cross-sectoral priorities such as digitalization and gender equality.
The OECD DCD emphasized that the involvement of various Latvian institutions and organizations has helped to deepen our understanding of Latvias approach to development cooperation and to see what contribution we can make to the DAC, as well as what issues require OECD support to improve the system. In the first months of 2025, OECD experts will publish an assessment report on Latvias development cooperation system and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will make a presentation to OECD DAC member states on Latvias investment in development cooperation and the motivation to join the committee. This will be followed by a vote by DAC member states on Latvias admission to the DAC.
Participation in the DAC is an important step in the internationalization of Latvias foreign policy priorities, including support for Ukraine and other EU Eastern Partnership countries, as well as Central Asian countries, through cooperation with DAC member states. In practice, this means a new platform for building cooperation in the field of development cooperation with the other 32 DAC member states and an opportunity to improve Latvias development cooperation system by attracting OECD expertise and exchanging experience with other DAC member states.
Development cooperation is the provision of assistance and expertise to partner countries with the aim of promoting the sustainable social and economic development of these countries and their societies. Latvias development cooperation policy is based on the Development Cooperation Policy Framework for 2021-2027, which includes both bilateral and multilateral cooperation objectives. Geographic priorities for cooperation include the EUs Eastern Partnership countries (especially Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, as well as support for Belarusian civil society), Central Asian countries (especially Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan), as well as African and least developed countries.
