From 29 November to 1 December, the development policy world gathers in Busan, where Korea is hosting the fourth forum on aid effectiveness. Over 2000 delegates from developing and industrialised countries, international organisations and civil society meet to discuss how, and on what terms, aid can become more effective.
The forum will include assessing global progress in improving the quality of aid, sharing of experiences in delivering results, and importantly, agreeing on the Busan Outcome Document. The primary objective is to create a new, global development policy partnership. A central motivation is to reach the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.
The Minister of the Environment and Development, Erik Solheim, is Head of the Norwegian delegation, which includes various government officials and representatives from civil society. Development aid is a key priority for Norway, that aims to give 1 per cent of its GDP to official development assistance.
The forum in Busan is an opportunity for Norway to meet representatives from developing countries to discuss new or continued cooperation, as well as an arena for meeting other donor countries and organisations. During the forum, Minister Erik Solheim will also attend the two side events “Piloting Innovative Approaches for Development Results – Results Based Approaches in Action” and “International Corruption and Illicit Flows: What role for development cooperation?”.