Development - Jean-Yves Le Drian’s participation in the extraordinary session of the National Council for Development and International Solidarity (Paris, 22 March 2019)

The third meeting of the CNDSI devoted to revising development policy was preceded by consultations organized by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs in Paris and regionally. This approach reflects Jean-Yves Le Drian’s determination to ensure that all international cooperation and development stakeholders are involved in drafting the new legislation: parliamentarians, representatives of local and regional authorities, NGOs, unions, employers, economic stakeholders, universities and research centers and foreign personalities.

The draft legislation currently being drawn up reflects President Macron’s desire to revise France’s development policy in terms of its goals, means and impact, in the context of a trend toward increased official development assistance with the goal of reaching 0.55% of GNI in 2022. It provides guidelines for our development policy, in support of the strategic priorities of France’s external action: development policy focused on the priority countries for our assistance, mainly in Africa; a policy that combats global inequalities by undertaking more effective action on key issues such as poverty, hunger, education, health, gender equality, climate and biodiversity, fragile and crisis areas - all global issues that have been made a priority of the French presidency of the G7. Increasing the effectiveness of development policy will also be central to the draft legislation, thanks to a more partnership-based approach, increased policy guidance for development agencies, such as the French Development Agency and Expertise France, and through a more demanding assessment of the impact of development projects in order to improve accountability.