Finland Allocates EUR 114 Million In Support For The Development Of The World’s Poorest Countries

Finland will contribute EUR 114 million to the replenishment of the International Development Association (IDA), which is part of the World Bank Group. IDA supports the world’s poorest countries.

More than 60 officials from donor governments and representatives of developing countries have reached agreement on the replenishment of the International Development Association (IDA) for 2020–2023.

Donor countries’ development cooperation funding accounts for approximately EUR 73 billion of the financing package, which totals around EUR 21 billion. The rest of the financing package consists of the repayments from developing countries, as well as market financing.

IDA mainly provides concessional loans and grants to the poorest developing countries. Donors meet every three years to agree on the replenishment of IDA resources. During the 2017–2020 replenishment round, Finland supported IDA by EUR 105 million, which means that the grant element pledged by Finland will increase by about 8.5 per cent.

IDA promotes sustainable development and the reduction of poverty and inequality. In its work in developing countries, IDA focuses on strengthening the rights and status of women and girls, creating jobs, livelihoods and wellbeing, improving governance and tax collection capacity, combating climate change and adapting to it, and advancing the position of people with disabilities.

“Through IDA, Finland can contribute to the direction and content of a significant development financing package. I am proud that, together with other like-minded countries, we have managed to steer the work of the organisation in such a way that many of the development policy objectives important to Finland are emphasised. These include climate action, women’s and girls’ rights and, in particular, the status of people with disabilities,” says Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari.