What development cooperation means for Belgium is that we are striving to bring about a world without poverty, working for peace and security, and trying to ensure equal opportunities for every individual. Our country is a serious donor. Year after year, the development aid budget increases, making Belgium one of the most generous countries in Europe.
Our people work in sometimes difficult conditions toprotect population groups and help rebuild countries. Together with the United Nations, the European Union, the World Bank and the IMF, we are seeking global solutions to international problems. We finance NGOs on the ground, scientific projects, development banks, study grants, emergency aid, etc. We use all manner of technical terminology in our work. These various types of aid may provide safe drinking water, for example, or stop young mothers from dying. But at the end of the day, our aid – in all its various forms – can only be sustainable if the South itself chooses the road it wishes to follow.
Development cooperation alone cannot rid the world of poverty. Trade, private investments, agriculture, migration, the environment, security… all areas with a big impact on development in the South. It is important to tie these areas together so that they can help to drive back poverty.
That is why we ensure that:
• the aid is used for the right purposes and we control carefully where the money goes
• the aid combats poverty in the best possible way
• countries are helped to stamp out corruption, via the courts, parliament and campaigns.
