The Swedish government has decided to establish embassies in Afghanistan, Sudan and Belarus. And the Swedish mission to NATO in Brussels will become a government authority in its own right. At the same time, three other embassies in Angola, the Philippines and Laos will be phased out.

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EUR 780m in Nordic promises for Palestinians

The Nordic donors pledged about EUR 780 million (USD 1.18b) in aid for the Palestinians over the next three years at the donor conference in Paris, according to an overview by Development Today.

Finland to reconsider budget support

Finland’s Development Minister Paavo Väyrynen is sceptical about using direct budget support as an aid instrument. Finland will evaluate its budget support programme at the end of next year, and then decide whether or not to continue with it at all.

The Nordic share of funding in IDA is dropping in the coming three-year period. During the final negotiations in Berlin, Norway and Denmark ended up substantially reducing their shares of funding, while Finland scaled up its role in the Bank.

Jannik Lindbæk, former head of the IFC, tells Development Today about his role in creating the ombudsman of the International Finance Corporation, and lessons learned from the Pangue project in Chile.

The annual peer review of Finnish aid by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD points to growing fragmentation and a loss of focus on the poorest countries, in spite of Finland’s reduction in the number of priority recipients.

The corporate profile of the aid-financed hydropower investor SN Power as a socially and environmentally responsible company is being put to the test in Chile, where the company plans build four hydropower dams. Mapuche inhabitants say 'no'.