MAE: Romania - 240 million euros for development assistance in 2016; Moldova - main beneficiary

Romania invested 240 million euros in assistance for development in 2016, with the Republic of Moldova being the main beneficiary of the funds offered by Romania - shows "The National Report on Official Assistance for Development Granted by Romania in 2016," made public by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE). 

Thus, the total national budget going to assistance for development, as reported by Romania in 2016, accounted for 240 million euros, representing 0.14% of the Gross National Income. Multilateral contributions represented 59% of the funds granted by Romania at national level, with the bilateral ones accounting for 41 per cent. 

Sectors who benefited the most from the financing were: democracy and good governing (63%), education (26%) and humanitarian assistance (9%), according to MAE. 

The main country which benefited from the bilateral assistance from Romania was the Republic of Moldova (86% of the funds). Romania also offered assistance to other states, such as: Serbia, Ukraine, Georgia, Syria and Turkey (the Syrian refugees), Iraq, but also to some states in Africa and Central Asia. In total, 80 countries benefited from assistance from Romania, especially in the form of scholarships, mentions the report. 

According to MAE, "2016 was the most important year in strengthening Romania's international profile as an emerging donor, which materialized in the adoption of a new legislative framework regarding assistance for development and humanitarian aid and also in the creation of an Agency focused on International Cooperation for Development (RoAid)." 

This was the 5th national report analyzing Romania's international cooperation policy for development, with the purpose of strengthening transparency rate and information level with respect to the reported contributions. 

The report includes detailed information about the assistance for development reported by the public institutions, a statistical analysis per geographic regions and thematic areas, as well as an assessment. 

The publication of the annual national reports regarding the official assistance for development granted by Romania was initiated in 2012, as an essential element in the sense of promoting information, transparency and making efforts in this field. The publication of the report represents one of the instruments through which Romania implements its international commitments regarding transparency, established through the Document in Busan. 

Moreover, Romania reports annually to the Committee for Assistance for Development of the OCDE in relation to the assistance for development granted to partner states and publishes data regarding the AOD funds earmarked under the International Air Transparency Initiative, being the first of the new EU member states and, in general, one of the few EU states, which does this.

Agerpres