The Central Finance and Contracting Agency (CFCA) has become the Development Cooperation Agency in Latvia based on the delegation provided for in the national Law on International Assistance (entry into force: 28.05.2008.), with amendments to this law that entered into force on 01.01.2022.
As stated in the Law on International Assistance Section 4 paragraph 5: The Agency (CFCA) shall ensure the performance of the functions of the single point of contact and coordinator of development cooperation projects financed by the European Union external action instruments and other foreign international aid financiers by providing support to state and local government institutions and legal entities in the process of development, submission and project administration.
The functions of Development Cooperation Agency are performed by the CFCA in close cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), which ensures the development and implementation of Latvia’s development cooperation policy.
- What is development cooperation?
In today’s context, this concept refers to a set of policies and measures aimed at assisting developing countries which are not EU member states to promote their long-term social and economic development.
Development cooperation is one of the European Union’s (EU) foreign policy priorities. When Latvia joined the EU in 2004, Latvia also became a donor country and is involved in the planning and implementation of development cooperation policy, fulfilling its international obligations to promote global development and provide support to developing countries.
The MFA is Latvia’s Development Cooperation Policy maker and cooperates with other national and international stakeholders on the basis of the global development agenda and agreements, including the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda).
The goals, directions of actions and tasks of the development cooperation policy implemented by Latvia are based on the Development Cooperation Policy Guidelines for 2021-2027 (hereinafter – Guidelines).
- Geographical priorities of Latvia’s development cooperation policy
- EU Eastern Partnership countries (especially Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus);
- Central Asia countries (especially Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan);
- Prospective new regions – African countries, etc. regions, contributing to global public goods and addressing global challenges, as well as Latvia’s official development aid commitments to support the less developed countries.
- Thematical priorities of Latvia’s development cooperation
- Peace, justice and effective, accountable and inclusive institutions:
Development of effective, liable and transparent institutions at all levels, including support for policy development, reform and modernization processes in public administration; strengthening the rule of law; combating corruption; public finance management; reduction of illegal financial flows; decentralization; the development of civil society and the promotion of democratic participation, including in decision-making processes; strengthening freedom of speech and media; integrated border management; governance and reform of security structures, democratic governance and civilian oversight; participation in international peacekeeping, civilian and election observation missions.
- Gender equality:
Promoting the political, economic and social participation of women; prevention of gender-based violence; implementation of the objectives of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.
- Quality education:
Development of education policy and administrative management; availability and quality improvement of education, incl. the adequacy of knowledge and skills to the requirements of the labor market, in particular in the field of vocational training; global education.
- Decent work and economic growth:
Business development, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises; putting trade-related regulation into practice and strengthening export capacity; support for transition to a green and resource efficient economy; promoting the principles of responsible entrepreneurship, incl. corporate social responsibility.
- Climate action:
Strengthening the capacity of society and institutions to mitigate and adapt to climate change; integrating climate change into policies and planning. Activities can simultaneusly contribute to other, incl. non-priority Sustainable Development goals.
- Cooperation for the implementation of objectives:
Strengthening intersectoral partnerships and cooperation and raising public awarareness of development cooperation.
- Sources of funding for development cooperation projects:
- EU level open calls for proposals according to the needs of the beneficiary countries. Project competition mostly involves partnership between different countries and organizations;
- Decentralized EU contracts – “direct” contracts awarded only to EU accredited organizations (CFCA has applied for Pillar Assessment in order to be become eligible for such status in the future);
- Annual grant project competitions organized by the MFA. Once a year the MFA announces open project tenders for projects that meet the objectives of Latvia’s development cooperation policy as defined in the Guidelines.
- The role of CFCA in development cooperation:
- The CFCA, as a single point of contact, that will centrally collect information on the expertise of Latvian institutions and organizations, including the provision of experts (it is planned to create an expert database), disseminate information on project competitions and promote project partnership (e.g., by bringing together various organizations, experts etc. according to the purpose of each project call);
- The CFCA as a unified consulting and support center for applicants for development cooperation projects in Latvia, providing consulting support in the formation of partnerships, preparation of project applications, as well as, in the future, possibly organizing trainings.
