Slovakia’s ongoing transformation from a development aid recipient to a donor country started in 2000 when it became member of the OECD. Until 2002, assistance was mainly provided in the form of voluntary contributions to international organisations, using specialised programmes (e.g. scholarships) and in the form of humanitarian aid. There was no budget line earmarked for development assistance within the national budget. A major change occurred in 2003, when funds of the national budget were allocated to the provision of Official Development Assistance (ODA) by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since then, Slovakia has joined the European Union (EU) (2004), adopted the primary community legislation on development assistance and has started to participate in the implementation of the EU’s development policy.

‘The Medium-Term Strategy of Official Development Assistance for the years 2003–2008’ issued in 2003 defines Slovakia’s strategic goals and development policy approach. It is the basis for further documents, such as annual national programmes, bilateral agreements with developing countries, financial guidelines and budgets.

As articulated in this strategy, Slovakia’s main development co-operation goals are the following:

• transfering Slovakia’s experience of transformation processes rooted in its own recent history to countries currently undergoing this process;
• supporting the involvement of Slovak experts in international development organisations;
• fostering the participation of Slovak entities in international tenders;
• using development assistance for the enhancement of economic co-operation where possible; and
• assisting ethnic Slovak minorities in developing countries.

Geographically, Slovakia concentrates its aid on Serbia and Montenegro, Kenya, Sudan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Belarus.

In 2005, ODA provided by Slovakia amounted to € 45 million, which represented 0.12% of gross national income (GNI), compared to 0.072% of GNI in 2004. The Council of Europe decided in June 2005 that new Member States should strive to reach ODA of 0.17% of GNI by 2010 and 0.33% by 2015.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs acts as co-ordinator for the definition and provision of Slovak ODA. Participants in the programme in 2006 are the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Ministry of Education. Relevant ministries draw the funds for attaining the goals of their sub-programmes from their budget chapters within the limits of approved expenditures for the year concerned.

Originally, Slovakia had little capacity in implementing ODA strategies to developing countries. Therefore, its implementation structure largely relies on the experience of traditional donors (e.g. UNDP, the Canadian International Development Agency – CIDA). Projects and other development assistance activities are funded through the Trust Fund, administered by the Administrative and Contracting Unit established in 2003 in conjunction with the ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Bratislava-based United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) regional centre. A special fund has been set up for Serbia and Montenegro and is managed by the Civil Society Development Foundation (CSDF).

Increasingly, growing amounts of ODA make this structure financially inefficient and the importance of a new structure – where programme management is ensured by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and project management by a separate agency – has been recognised. Currently, new legislative texts are being drafted.

While there has been a year-on-year increase in the overall level of assistance, the amount of bilateral assistance has not changed in three years (2003–2005) (€ 4.193 million). In 2005, bilateral means accounted for 10% of overall Slovak ODA. Yet, at the session of the National Council of the Slovak Republic on 13 December 2005, the government recommended increasing the amount of funds allocated to ODA in this way.

Slovakia channels funds to Serbia and Montenegro on a programme basis through the Bratislava–Belgrade Fund, which has been run since 2003 by the winner of a public tender – the CSDF which for this purpose created an Administrative and Contracting Unit.

Development assistance targeted at Slovakia’s other partner countries is provided on a project basis. The funds are managed by the Administrative and Contracting Unit of the Trust Fund established in cooperation with UNDP. The mechanisms for evaluating, selecting and monitoring projects in the Bratislava–Belgrade Fund and the Trust Fund are identical.

The priorities of Slovakia’s bilateral development assistance as defined in the medium-term strategy are threefold: 

• Developing democratic institutions and market environment: based on Slovakia’s own experience, this line is about the development of market economies, changing ownership structures, and creating a business environment, as well as reforms in the public sector (managing public finance, reform of public administration and public service).
• Infrastructure (including social infrastructure): the potential of the Slovak Republic in this area concerns technical and social infrastructure (health care, education). In addition, it includes the development of transport infrastructure, demining works, construction of sewage systems, water purification and treatment plants, development of waste management, projects and engineering services in the area of drinking water supply and the development of energy infrastructure.
• Landscaping, protection of the environment, agriculture, food safety and use of raw materials: this includes the know-how and capacities of Slovak entities in forestation, irrigation system construction, selected agricultural activities and geological research.

Slovakia’s main multilateral partner is the UNDP and its regional centre in Bratislava. The UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) is another important partner. The goal of the co-operation between Slovakia and the UNIDO is to strengthen industrial and economic development of the least developed countries of the world.

Further, Slovakia co-operates with international donors through joint projects in the field. Since 2003, these have mainly been CIDA, UNDP and the Austrian Development Agency (ADA). For example, Slovakia and CIDA co-finance 26 projects.

 

Slovakia’s medium-term strategy does not mention sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) or HIV/AIDS as policy areas for the government’s development programmes. However, for the first time, the national ODA programme for 2006 mentions two examples targeting HIV/AIDS in 2005: first, a Kenyan project that has established a social centre with the aim to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS virus from mother to child, and second, as part of the increasing efforts to inform and educate the Slovak public on development issues, films on development-related topics were distributed to 100 schools together with a methodology manual for these films. The films included information on HIV/AIDS.

The Slovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs sees co-operation with NGOs and the private sector as important. It works with them mainly through umbrella organisations – the Platform of the Ministry of Construction and Regional Development (MCRD) for the NGO sector and the Federation of Employers’ Associations (FEA) for the private sector. Both organisations have their representatives on the ODA co-ordination committee and on ODA steering committees. Through them they take part in the formulation of development policy and in the evaluation and selection of projects. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the MCRD platform and the FEA pursue the common objective to improve implementation capacities of Slovak entities and, consequently, increase the number of good-quality development projects. Although there is no special NGO financing instrument, the Bratislava–Belgrade Fund and the Trust Fund are open to all Slovak entities, including NGOs.

pdf download

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The 2006 Official Development Aid National Programme, 27.4.2006

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The 2005 Official Development Aid National Programme, 7.6.2005

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The 2004 Official Development Aid National Programme, 22.10.2004

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Medium Term Strategy for Slovak Republik’s ODA: 2003-2008, 5.6.2003