“We punch above our weight”: Czech development cooperation in spotlight
The first ever National Development Day was held at the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday. The event highlighted the country’s active cooperation with developing countries around the world – including in the human rights field.
The inaugural National Development Day took place at Prague’s Czernin Palace, the grand home of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Thursday.
The event was opened by President Petr Pavel, while other speakers included Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský and Šimon Pánek, founder of the major Czech NGO People in Need.
Petr Gandalovič, who heads the ministry’s Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid Department, summed up one of the key areas of discussion during the novel event.
“Our speakers agreed on the key importance of development cooperation. Czechia isn’t a small country within the EU, we’re a mid-sized one. And our co-responsibility within Europe, particularly toward Africa, is great. We also have our tradition, and have been helping Africa for many years. We also help countries in the Western Balkans. So we have something to build on. International development aid, along with humanitarian aid and cooperation on transition policy, are an essential part of our foreign policy.”
Czechia has six “priority countries” to which it targets aid: Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ethiopia, Moldova and Mongolia. However, it also works closely with several other states, including Georgia, Cambodia, Kosovo, the Palestinian territories and Serbia. Petr Gandalovič has more.
“We want to be active in development cooperation in the longer term, because it only makes sense when it’s long-term and in cooperation with domestic governments. In the case of the three states on the path to joining the EU – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova and Georgia – they welcome the expertise from our own accession. Then there are poor countries, like Ethiopia, Zambia and Cambodia, and there we help build institutions, improve farming and water supply, etc. There the development aid is more typical, familiar from pictures from Africa, for instance.”
Veronika Miťková is the director of the ministry’s Department of Human Rights and Transition Promotion Policy.
“Our programme, which is focused on supporting human rights, is part of a package of funding that goes toward development cooperation. But it is specially targeted at a particular area. Not every country has this kind of tool at their disposal, and I think our international partners appreciate it a lot. In this respect we’re really punching far above our weight.”
This aspect of Czech foreign policy owes a lot to Václav Havel, says Miťková, who herself worked in the office of the democracy leader and president.
“The people who set up this programme had long histories with Václav Havel, so it is part of his legacy. But it is also part of overall Czech foreign policy, which builds on Václav Havel’s philosophy in a long-term manner.”
