Estonian formin: Visibility of development cooperation, humanitarian aid must be increased

TALLINN - Estonia must increase the visibility of development cooperation and humanitarian aid, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sven Mikser said on Tuesday at the public sitting of the foreign affairs committee of the Riigikogu, which focused on the future of Estonia's development cooperation.

"We must make even more use of the opportunities for wider cooperation with other states, participate more actively in shaping international policies and use the programs of the European Union even more," Mikser said. "This, however, presumes growth of both human as well as financial resources and further advancement of development cooperation and the humanitarian system," the minister was quoted in a press release as saying.

"For instance, coordination in Estonia needs to be made more effective, agencies' preparedness for effective participation in competitions needs to be enhanced. Raising organizations' capacity to apply for instruments from the European Union also requires more attention," Mikser said.

The general goal development cooperation is to contribute to the eradication of world poverty and to attaining the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The objective of humanitarian aid is to save lives, reduce suffering of people and provide necessities for decent life during and after natural and human-made catastrophes.

In 2017, Estonia's contribution to development cooperation and humanitarian aid activities totaled 38.2 million euros.