News

On 17 November in Brussels, Lithuania’s Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Evaldas Ignatavičius attended the session of General Affairs and External Relations Council for Development Cooperation. During the session, issues of improving the aid effectiveness, assistance for developing countries in tackling the climate change and the EU policies’ coherence for development were discussed.

At the morning session, foreign and development cooperation ministers discussed ways to use all the EU’s tools of support for democracy in Afghanistan, so that the democratic changes in the country would be sustainable and would help to solve the security and development problems.

Aiming to make the support for the development in Afghanistan more effective, Lithuania joins the EU’s effort to provide more and better aid. Afghanistan receives a considerable support from international donors. Lithuania invites not only to coordinate the actions of the European Commission and donor countries, but also to encourage a more active involvement of local authorities into the activities of Afghanistan’s reconstruction, strengthening their administrative capacities, so that the provided aid would bring the necessary results for the people of the country.

During the Council, ministers also discussed the financing that would allow developing countries to address climate change problems and mitigate them. 

Lithuania speaks up for the linkage between the use of the funds for the official development assistance and the solution of the problems that developing countries face due to climate change.

Lithuania agrees that the efforts of the EU politicians should be coordinated and focused on five priority areas - trade and development, response to climate change, global food provision, positive impact of migration on the development, security and development when building peace. Such a guideline is set out in the EU’s 2010-2013 work programme on policy coherence for development that is being adopted by the Council.