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Multilateral Development Co-operation

MULTILATERAL DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION

Within multilateral development cooperation, Bulgaria participates in the activities of the European Union and of other international organisations and funds.

Multilateral cooperation is used as an instrument for supporting the countries and sectors where acting on a bilateral basis would be impossible or ineffective for Bulgaria.

At the same time, enhanced multilateral cooperation enables the country to develop further its bilateral efforts and to multiply the impact and effect in implementing its development priorities.

Membership fees, voluntary financial contributions to particular international organisations and their specific funds, as well as part of the contributions to the EU budget, the Union’s funds and instruments, are reported as official development assistance in strict compliance with the criteria, rules and strategic guidelines of OECD DAC.

Voluntary financial contributions are essential for implementing the development cooperation and humanitarian aid policy and hence the country’s foreign policy interests. Voluntary contributions are, above all, an expression of political support for the mandate and operation of a particular international organisation, but also helps enhance the credibility of Bulgaria internationally. Unlike regular membership fees, voluntary contributions can be used for the attainment of a particular objective in line with the strategic priorities of the Bulgarian ODA, which gives Bulgaria a say in the activities and the projects on which the funds allocated will be spent. Owing to resource constraints, Bulgaria dedicates its resources to utilising the capacity of international organisations and multilateral funds in pursuit of the development cooperation policy objectives with a focus on countries that are impacted by crises or permanent instability.

Bulgaria follows very closely and assists, by means of periodically assuming political and/or financial commitments, the activities of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement; the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe; international organisations of the UN family (including the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organization for Migration, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, UNESCO, the United Nations Population Fund, the International Labour Organization, etc.); the International Organisation of La Francophonie.

Multilateral contributions account for approximately 85% of the total amount of the Bulgarian ODA.

European Union (EU)

Bulgaria takes part in the work of European Union bodies shaping the policies, programmes and instruments of EU development assistance and humanitarian aid. At the operational level, it contributes delegates to and participates in programmes of EU Council working groups for development cooperation (CODEV), Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) and the Working Party on Humanitarian Aid and Food Aid (COHAFA).

Bulgaria allocates a substantial sum to the EU budget, contributes financially and is involved in the decision-making process of the European Development Fund (EDF) and the EU external assistance instruments, including the Development Cooperation Instrument, the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance, the European Neighborhood Instrument, the Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights, EU Emergency Trust Fund for Stability and Addressing Root Causes of Irregular Migration and Displaced Persons In Africa, the European Endowment for Democracy, European Fund for Sustainable Development, Refugee Facility for Turkey, EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis, 'The Madad Fund', Humanitarian Aid Committee, as well as other EU-created mechanisms. 

Key documents of the European Union

United Nations (UN)

Bulgaria is involved in the decision-making process in multilateral development cooperation mechanisms within the UN, its specialised agencies, programmes and other international organisations. We also have a financial contribution in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and others.

Key documents of the United Nations

OECD

Bulgaria has been a member of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD DAC) since  2018 and participates in OECD DAC working bodies, particularly the International International Network on Conflict and Fragility/INCAF, Working Party on Development Finance Statistics (WP-STAT) and Network on Gender Equality/GENDERNET.

Key documents of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development with other donors of official development assistance

Cooperation with other donors of official development assistance

In recent years Bulgaria established good cooperation with other ODA donors: within the framework of the US State Department’s Emerging Donor Challenge Program; the Memorandum of Cooperation in the field of Development Cooperation, signed with Slovakia; interaction with Japan within the framework of the Western Balkans Cooperation Initiative.

 

 

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