Political and economic situation:
Finland
has a highly industrialized economy based on abundant forest resources and
technology. In the past decade, the emergence of the high-technology sector,
led by Nokia (one of the world's leading mobile-phone makers and Finland's
largest company), has played a key role in modifying the structure of the
Finnish economy. Following the Parliamentary Elections of last April 2011, a government,
chaired by Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen of the National Coalition Party (KOK), leads the
country. The KOK is a modern European liberal party, supporting low
taxes and low regulation. Strongly pro-European, the party is also promoting
social liberal policies.
Development
policy:
The Finnish development policy is formulated, planned and implemented by the
Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Finland promotes sustainable development, stability and security in the international community.
The country has launched the Helsinki Process which aims to improve current
global governance structure. The government resolution on development policy published
in October 2007 set out the key points of the Finnish development policy. As
stated in this document, the development assistance budget is expected to grow
from 0.51% of the gross national Income in 2010 to 0.7% in 2015.[i] In 2010, Finland’s ODA amounted to USD 1.34 billion, equivalent to 0.55% of its GNI.
The volume of Finnish ODA has grown over the past decade and between 2009 and 2010, the increase in real terms was 6.9%, mainly due to an increase in bilateral grants.
The
Finland’s Development Policy report provides
introductory information on the development projects implemented in 2010.The new policy aims at promoting the policy coherence among different sectors and
also at improving the quality and effectiveness of aid on the basis of the
principles stated at the Paris Declaration and the Accra Agenda for Action. A
Results Based Approach on the Finnish development cooperation has been recently
launched.
Reference contact persons:
Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Erkki Tuomioja appointed in June 2011. Educational
background - Ph.D. in Political Science, B.Sc. in Economics
Minister of International Cooperation Ms Heidi Hautala (CV) appointed in June 2011. She served in the Parliament of Finland and the EU Parliament. Ministry contact information
Key Objectives:
Eradication of poverty and promotion of sustainable development:
Eradication of poverty and promotion of sustainable development:
- Millennium Development Goals (UN General Assembly 2000)
Priority areas:
- Climate and environment issues
- Prevention of crises
- Support for peace-building processes
Cross-cutting themes in
development policy:
- Improvement of the position of women and girls and promotion of equality
- Promotion of the rights of children, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities
- Combat against HIV/AIDS
Sources of information for both tables: OECD - Development Co-operation
Directorate (DCD-DAC) 2010, European Union 2011[ii].2015
[i] The new Development Programme Policy document will be released in the first semester of 2012.
[ii]EU Accountability Report on Financing for Development
[ii]EU Accountability Report on Financing for Development