Finland’s report on foreign aid thinks long-term and stresses cooperation

By Will Dickson

Finland’s foreign aid strategy has undergone an extensive review in an effort to institute a plan for more effective investment with coherent, long-term goals. The ultimate aim is to provide partner nations with an infrastructure that will be sufficient to finance their own development in the future while at the same time strengthening Finland’s position as an international partner.

After cross-party parliamentary monitoring, Ville Skinnari, the Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, said: “Principles that are valid across parliamentary terms ensure that the direction in development policy remains clear — this offers us the best opportunities to make this work as effective as possible.”

The monitoring group released its report on May 27th.

Finland has established a roadmap to reach its development assistance goals by scheduling development funding increases “gradually and systematically over several parliamentary terms. The target year set to reach 0.7% of the country’s Gross National Income (GNI) is 2030.” The sum budgeted by Finland for development cooperation in 2021 amounted to EUR 1,245 million which corresponds to 0.5 % GNI. May’s “Report on Development Policy across Parliamentary Terms” urges that Finland’s development funding be spent as efficiently as possible by setting a target of 0.2% of GNI to fund assistance to the world’s least developed countries “as soon as possible.”

0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI) is the long-established target set by the UN for developed countries to make in order to effectively combat the effects of poverty around the world.

The report highlights the importance of participation in foreign development across domestic sectors from civil society to corporations to research institutions: “It is important for Finnish society to be broadly involved in development policy: sustainable development is the sum total of the work carried out by different actors and of multiple forms of cooperation.”

Such cooperation not only improves the effectiveness of aid in partner nations but benefits the donor nation as well.

According to Minister Skinnari, “For organisations, companies and the rest of society, development cooperation offers new networking opportunities and expands the range of collaboration opportunities in the commercial sector.” Domestic benefits are a clear theme in May’s report. Finland has emphasised that an effective development policy “is an integral part of Finland’s foreign and security policy, which aims to enhance security and wellbeing through international cooperation.”

The report outlines clear areas of focus for Finland’s development policy. These include promoting the rights of women, bolstering peaceful and democratic governments, and improving education and training in the developing world. By focusing on these areas, Finland hopes to strengthen “developing countries’ capacity to take care of their own well-being.” The most pronounced focus, however, seems to be on the environment, particularly the sustainable development goals (SDGs) put forward by the UN.

The press release announcing the development policy report states: “Globally, the need for funding needed to meet the UN SDGs is estimated to be thousands of billions of euros on an annual basis, and a substantial part of the financing gap affects developing countries. The international community is committed to directing all relevant international funding…to ends that support the achievement of the SDGs better than before.”

In fact, Finland’s commitment to the climate is obvious across policy sectors. An agricultural policy agreement struck between the 27 nations of the EU on June 25th was criticised by Krista Mikkonen, Finland’s Minister of the Environment and Climate:

“The national plan should be steering more firmly toward climate and environmental action.”

Another policy, Finland’s Arctic policy, was passed by the Finnish Government on June 17th. This policy will also remain in effect until 2030, over the next two parliamentary terms, and places the protection of the natural arctic environment, and every climate-friendly practices that entails, before all else. Much like May’s Report on Development Policy, the Arctic policy also works towards securing Finland’s foreign and security policy through international cooperation: “Finland is actively involved in multilateral cooperation at the global and regional levels to achieve its own Artic goals and to pre-empt global threats.”