On 14 June 2021, the Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, took part in a video conference of the European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council on development cooperation matters.
At the beginning of the meeting, EU Member States welcomed the coming into force of a new Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) – Global Europe. To address global challenges from 2021 to 2027, EUR 79.5 billion have been allocated in total, and will be divided among geographic and thematic priorities as well as rapid response actions. Of this amount, EUR 19.32 billion will be channelled towards the Eastern and Southern Neighbourhoods. The new instrument is in line with Latvia’s interests and earlier calls made for the provision of more funding than was made available in the previous period for the European Neighbourhood Policy, especially in support of the EU’s Eastern Partnership.
In a discussion on cooperation with middle-income countries, which are also part of the European Neighbourhood Policy region. Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica underlined that Latvia focuses on providing countries with the required technical assistance in reform processes, as well as supporting capacity building in the partner countries themselves.
The meeting also addressed possibilities for continued EU engagement in the development of partner countries through facilitating the accessibility of education and building strong and resilient health care systems.
The Parliamentary Secretary underlined that education is the basis for development both in developed and developing countries. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated inequality, especially in less-developed countries, including in terms of access to education; therefore, access to quality and inclusive education should be promoted. A major role is played by the enhancement of digital skills among women and youth. Digital skills stimulate participation in socio-economic and political processes, the Parliamentary Secretary noted during the discussion.
In the context of contribution to health care systems in partner countries, Member States were in agreement about the need to ensure the accessibility of vaccines for all developing countries. And discussions addressed the opportunities for providing support by the EU and its Member States in the framework of the global COVAX mechanism.