Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation

The Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation (GPEDC) was established at the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan, South Korea, in 2011. It was launched with the ambition of being the main multi-stakeholder cooperation platform for advancing the development effectiveness (DE) agenda in order to contribute to the achievement of the SDGs. At the Busan forum, the four principles of effectiveness were formally set out. These are: (i) country ownership of development priorities by partner countries and alignment with their policies, systems and procedures; (ii) focus on results; (iii) inclusive partnerships; and (iv) transparency and accountability to one another.

The GPEDC aims to overcome the dichotomy between the so-called “donor countries” and “recipient countries” by opening up in particular to the emerging countries as the main protagonists of South-South and triangular cooperation, to civil society organisations, to the private sector and to philanthropic foundations. The GPEDC has also officially established a mechanism to periodically measure and monitor progress on commitments to implement the principles of development effectiveness, in line with partner countries’ priorities. This global monitoring framework (Global Monitoring Round), with common indicators, benchmarks, targets and objectives, should allow comparisons between countries over time to demonstrate the results and impacts of implementing the principles of effectiveness and should thus foster mutual accountability among development partners.

At the midpoint of Agenda 2030, the 2022 High-Level Summit on Effective Development Cooperation, organised by the GPEDC and held from 12 to 14 December 2022 in Geneva, highlighted how effective cooperation strengthens trust and has revitalised the DE agenda both substantively and operationally. At this summit, the four principles of DE were confirmed and consolidated by six priority areas of action in 2022, in particular social protection and inclusion, combating poverty and economic recovery, multi-partnership and inclusive approaches, strengthening national capacities, strengthening national statistics as well as strengthening the GPEDC. The fourth global monitoring cycle was formally launched at the summit after ambitious reforms of the monitoring framework (the indicators measured) and its process (the measurement method).

Minister Franz Fayot took the opportunity to speak virtually at the summit during the plenary session on “Tackling the Multiple Challenges: Strengthening Health Systems, Food Security and Socio-Economic Recovery”. In his speech, the minister highlighted the harmful effects of the many current crises, which are interlinked, and stressed the importance that the Luxembourg Development Cooperation attaches to multi-stakeholder partnerships, including civil society actors in the private sector and working methods such as South-South and triangular cooperation.

Franz Fayot also highlighted the need for gender equality in order to achieve the SDGs. Women are often the ones who suffer the most from the consequences of crises, and at the same time are important agents of change, for example in mobilising communities or implementing strategies to combat climate change. That is why the Luxembourg Development Cooperation is working to strengthen the inclusion and empowerment of women in a cross-cutting way in all its projects. Finally, the minister gave an overview of the various initiatives that the Luxembourg Development Cooperation is undertaking in order to improve its evaluations and, ultimately, the effectiveness of its development cooperation.