The bill had been delayed due to the Covid. It will increase development aid to 0.55% of GNI in 2022, a campaign commitment by candidate Macron, against 0.43% in 2019. Aid would thus increase to 14 billion euros in 2022 against 10.9 billion in 2019 and 9.5 billion in 2017. This Thursday, at the Élysée Palace, the Head of State meets a new “presidential development council”, with Prime Minister Jean Castex, several ministers and leaders of the French Development Agency.
Consider a reorientation of aid
This council will work on redirecting aid towards structural solutions and models that are more sustainable from an economic, social and environmental point of view, in line with France’s international actions. This redefinition will lead to an international summit in May in Paris on the sustainable financing of African economies, with African and international leaders as well as international financial institutions. The presidency is also expected to announce this Thursday the creation of an innovation fund for development, responsible for launching experiments in aid policy to identify projects with the most impact and launch them on a larger scale.
The bill adopted on Wednesday sets geographic priorities for aid by placing eighteen African countries at the head of the beneficiaries and favoring a donation policy. Currently French development aid favors loans and its largest beneficiaries are middle-income countries, such as Colombia, Mexico or Brazil, said the Quai d’Orsay. Finally, the bill sets sectoral priorities, such as health, climate and education. Finally, it provides for the establishment of an independent commission to assess the aid and its concrete effects on the ground.
The May summit will have to “reposition the most indebted African countries on a financially sustainable trajectory, which could involve debt relief”, notes the Elysee, quoted by AFP. An international moratorium was already decided in April for the debt of the poorest countries. “The next few years will be difficult for the poorest countries because of the consequences of the Covid crisis,” recalls the presidency.
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