{RE-}EMERGING AS DONOR Russia

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RE-EMERGING AS DONORRussias Participation In
Global Development Cooperation

• Alexander Alimov
• Department of International Organizations
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• of the Russian Federation

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Russia long history of engagement

• Russia being the Soviet Union successor has a
  long history of engagement in development
  cooperation
• USSR one of the worlds major donor states and
  creditors
• considerable amounts of external assistance
• aid policy largely determined by ideological
  considerations, granted to countries, which
  declared their socialist orientation
• significant contribution to development of many
  countries
• necessary institutional arrangements in place
• 1990s Russia transformation to a recipient of
  international aid
• exodus from recipient countries
• no new conceptual policy framework for
  international assistance
• no special decision-making body set up to ensure
  implementation of such a policy
• USSR legacy, including debt assets and
  liabilities
• financial and technical support from
  international financial organizations, UN
  system, bilateral pertners
• 2000s back to a donor

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Back to donor status

• graduation from the role of a recipient of
  international assistance, attainment of the MDGs
  domestically through own efforts and at own
  expense
• search for an optimum balance between the need to
  address domestic issues and the need to increase
  participation in international efforts to support
  development
• commitment to the global partnership for
  development as set out in the Millennium
  Declaration, the Monterrey Consensus, the
  Johannesburg Plan of Implementation and the 2005
  World Summit Outcome
• recognition of the centrality of mobilizing
  financial resources and their effective use to a
  global partnership for development in support of
  the achievement of the internationally agreed
  development goals, including the MDGs
• strong support of multilateralism and the United
  Nations
• UN Security Council Permanent Member
• Group of Eight member and President in 2006
• Development assistance activity restarted

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Russia as Development Assistance Donor Factual
Situation

• Federal Budget factual expenditures for
  development assistance 2005 - USD 97
  million2006 to USD 100 million.Total amount
  of commitments taken in 2006 for the next 3-4
  years - USD 250 million
• Debt relief Russia has cancelled or committed to
  cancel USD 11,3 billion of debt of African
  countries, including USD 2,2 billion of the
  outstanding debt of eligible heavily indebted
  poor countries under HIPC initiative
• Financial support to international initiatives
• Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and
  Malaria USD 40 million pledged for 2002-2008,
  USD 217 million, which would be distributed to
  fund projects in Russian Federation, will be
  reimbursed to the Fund
• Global Polio Eradication Initiative USD 18
  million pledged for 2003-2008
• Global Plan of Action to Fight the Bird Flu and
  Pandemic Flu USD 44,7 million pledged
• International Energy Partnership Fund Global
  village USD 30 million pledged
• Education for All Initiative USD 7,2 million
  pledged

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Russia as Development Assistance DonorFactual
Situation

• Voluntary contributions to UN funds, programmes
  and specialized agencies have been increased, in
  some instances doubled (WFP USD 11 million,
  UNHCR USD 2 million, UNDP USD 1,1 million,
  UNICEF - 1 million, UN-Habitat - USD 0,4 million,
  UNFPA 0,3 million,)
• Contribution to IDA replenishment for 2003-2014
  USD 80 million
• Contribution to several IMF programmes around
  USD 50 million
• Work is underway to make contributions to the
  Central Emergency Relief Fund (CERF) and the
  Peace-Building Fund
• Innovative sources of financing
• Advance Market Commitments (AMCs) on vaccines

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Russia as Development Assistance DonorFactual
Situation

• Emergency humanitarian assistance to countries,
  which have been victims of natural and man-made
  disasters over USD 55 million for last five
  years
• USD 30 million of targeted humanitarian,
  technical and medical aid in the beginning of
  2005 to Asian and South-East Asian countries
  affected by the catastrophic tsunami
• Iran, Pakistan, Lebanon, Algeria, Angola, Mali,
  Sudan, Cuba, Bolivia, Mexico, Ecuador
• Training of specialists for CIS countries and
  developing states about 8 thousand foreign
  students in Russian higher education institutions
• Target for future USD 500 million per year

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Russia as Development Assistance DonorProfile

• In absolute amounts Russia is far behind
  developed donor-countries
• Russia is not OECD DAC member
• Debt relief dominates over all other assistance
  flows
• Multilateral channels more emphasis on the BWI
  than on UN development system
• Russia - both donor and recipient
• Russia a higher middle-income country with GNI
  per capita USD 4,650 in 2005
• Significant regional disparities challenges to
  achieve the MDGs in some regions HDI in Russian
  regions that are lagging behind is comparable to
  that of developing countries
• Russia has its own debt obligations
• Gradual phasing out of international assistance
• Enhancing its own development cooperation

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Enhancing development cooperation Challenges

• Need for a comprehensive and coherent system
• Responsibilities are spread across different
  ministries
• Steps taken are fragmented
• Absence of a National Development Assistance
  Agency
• Lack of conceptual basis and well-designed
  long-term strategy
• Legal and regulatory frameworks need to be
  improved
• The concept of international development
  assistance including the term ODA, is still
  not included in the Budget code of the Russian
  Federation, other federal laws and the federal
  budget
• Cumbersome Budgeting Process
• Specific Government ordinance/regulation is
  needed for every budget expenditure
• Hard-to-get approval of the Finance Ministry
• Insufficient institutional capacity of relevant
  ministries
• Infrastructure for providing bilateral assistance
  still to be developed

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Way aheadNational Development Assistance
Mechanism

• Ensuring political will at the highest level
• In May 2005 the President of the Russian
  Federation set the task of creating an effective
  development assistance mechanism.
• Further elaboration of the conceptual as well as
  regulatory and legal framework
• Concept of Russian Federations International
  Development Assistance
• Amendment of the Budget code of the Russian
  Federation
• Institution building, improving operational
  effectiveness and efficiency
• Improving coordination among relevant Government
  agencies
• Creating a working inter-ministerial mechanism
  for project approval and formulating proposals
  for budget allocations
• Involving non-government stakeholders, including
  private sector
• Involving regional authorities long term
  perspective
• Mobilizing public support
• Seeking for further increase in volume of
  assistance
• Increased contributions to UN funds and
  programmes

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Concept of Participation in International
Development Cooperation

• Prepared by MFA and Ministry of Finance
• Main elements agreed by the Government in
  November 2006
• To be presented to the President of the Russian
  Federation
• Sets the principles, goals, forms and priority
  areas of Russias international development
  assistance
• Outlines conceptual, regulatory and legislative
  basis of the national system of international
  development assistance and of the mechanism for
  planning and managing the external aid

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Role of UNDP RUSAID Project

• 2004-2005 joint UNDP Russia and MFA preparatory
  assistance project Russia as Emerging Donor.
  Strategic Research, Consultations and Training
• 2006 full fledged project aimed at providing
  practical assistance to the process of building
  up Russia s ODA agency/mechanism, including
  through
• Provision of advisory services to the appropriate
  government ministries, involved in the
  preparation of the concept on Russian development
  cooperation policy and establishment of a
  national development assistance mechanism
• Enhancing coordination and interaction between
  the relevant Russian government agencies and
  establishing partnership with the non-government
  stakeholders, including academic institutions,
  civil society and the corporate sector
• Establishing the information exchange and
  cooperation channels with other ODA agencies or
  structures worldwide
• Support to the specific pilot initiatives aimed
  at realization of Russias donor capacity
• Elaboration of the basic principles, main
  elements and structure of Russian development
  assistance agency/mechanism and working out
  concrete proposals related to the establishment
  of the national ODA agency for the Governments
  consideration.

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Role of UNDP

• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the Executing
  Agency of the project on behalf of the Russian
  Government
• Government expectations for the project
• Enhanced institutional, staffing and technical
  capacity within the respective Government
  entities to support the establishing of the
  national TA agency/mechanism
• Establishing a mechanism for funding JPOs and
  other national experts for assignment within the
  UN System elsewhere
• Exploring links between the ODA agenda and
  Russias G-8 chairmanship in 2006
• Learning, adapting and replicating international
  best practices and lessons learned
• Joint resource mobilization efforts including
  close collaboration with the corporate sector
• Transparent resources and results management
• Access to the international fora and events and
  communications with ODA agencies worldwide.

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Role of UNDP

• Mainstream the activity to support emerging
  donors efforts into UNDPs major strategic
  planning documents
• No appropriate service line in the MYFF for
  2004-2007
• Mechanisms and regulations governing resource
  mobilizations should be conducive to increased
  contributions from the emerging donors
• Possibility for tied-up contributions
• More active promotion of the thematic trust funds
• Attractive recovery rates
• Active domestic resources mobilization for UNDP
  country programmes
• Concrete project proposals to be presented
  regularly to interested Governments
• Quick impact MDG related projects within and
  beyond region
• Provide platform for regular information exchange
  and enhanced cooperation among emerging donors

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Thank you