Minister Väyrynen: Strengthening of civil society salient in promoting sustainable development
Press Release 324/2010
2 November, 2010
Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen stresses the importance of strengthening civil society in developing countries to promote sustainable development and to reduce poverty.
”An active civil society on the grass root level promotes sustainable development and assists in developing democracy and good governance. Therefore, we should give more attention to supporting civil society developments in bilateral development cooperation,” Minister Väyrynen said when presenting the Foreign Ministry's new Civil Society Development Cooperation Guidelines.
According to Minister Väyrynen, the new guidelines emphasize effectiveness of development aid and congruence between Finnish development policy objectives and those of the international community.
In order to improve effectiveness, Väyrynen hoped for open dialogue about more efficient coordination and harmonization of development cooperation by various organizations, opportunities for cooperation between organizations, and feasibility of regionally more specific aid allocation.
The definition of actors in a civil society has been redefined in the new guidelines and, therefore, the revised document has been renamed as Civil Society Development Cooperation Guidelines to replace the former name: NGO Development Cooperation Guidelines.
”In addition to traditional NGO's, the new guidelines also encourage the media, research organizations and economic life to engage in development cooperation - one by one and in cooperation with the others,” Minister Väyrynen said.
Minister Väyrynen spoke at the publication of the Foreign Ministry's Civil Society Development Cooperation Guidelines in Helsinki on 2 November. The guidelines were prepared in close cooperation with non-governmental organizations. The document replaces the former NGO Development Cooperation Guidelines.
Further information: Okko-Pekka Salmimies, Head of Unit, Unit for Non-Governmental Organizations, tel. +358 9 1605 6365 or +358 40 742 8420, and Hanna Saarni, Press Attaché to the Minister, tel. +358 400 739 824