Development Policy

Belgium's official development assistance (ODA) in 2009 amounted to $2.6 billion, representing 0.55% of Gross National Income (GNI) and is likely to reach 0.7% of GNI by 2010, a goal to which the Belgian government is committed by law. In 2009, Belgium was the world's 6th largest ODA donor (calculated as a percentage of GNI) and the 14th largest ODA donor in absolute terms.

About three-quarters of Belgian ODA is allocated to the least developed and low-income countries, and in 2009 81% of bilateral ODA was allocated to Sub-Saharan Africa. Most of this portion goes to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).  In 2008, the top recipients of Belgian ODA were: DR Congo (€122.1M), Iraq (€72.2M), Rwanda (€45.2M), Burundi (€40.3M),  Palestinian  Territories  (€24.3M), Peru (€18.2M), Mozambique (€17.9M), Vietnam (€17.8M), Mali (€16.2M) and Niger (€15.2M). The priority sectors are: (i) basic health care; (ii) education and training; (iii) agriculture and food security; (iv) basic infrastructure; and (v) conflict prevention and the consolidation of society. Added to these are three cross-cutting themes which relate to gender, the environment and welfare economics. In 2008, the most targeted sectors were governance & civil society (€177.5M), education (€152.5M) and healthcare (€125.3M). 

 

The implementation of this policy is entrusted to the Directorate General for Development Co-operation (DGDC), established within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Co-operation, currently headed by the Minister for Development Cooperation, Charles Michel. The Belgian Technical Cooperation (BTC) was set up in late 1998 to implement government-to-government cooperation. A fund for promoting investments in developing countries (BIO) was established in 2001.

 

Belgium also benefits from a wide network of development actors (e.g. nongovernmental organizations, universities, the Belgian Survival Fund, etc.). Concerning its voluntary contributions to multilateral aid channels, Belgium seeks to promote a highly strategic approach, concentrating on 21 priority organizations, including the World Bank, various other United Nations agencies and the European Union.