The international conference Development Aid Providers from New EU Member States: Experiences, Trends and Challenges is taking place in Ljubljana on 3 and 4 June 2008. The conference is a gathering of high representatives of development institutions from the new EU Member States and representatives of international organisations for the purpose of discussing the role of the new EU Member States in international development cooperation, their challenges and their advantages over other Member States.
The participants of the conference – organised by Slovenian development institutions, such as the Centre for Excellence in Finance, the Centre for European Perspective, the Foundation "Together" and the International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance – were welcomed on behalf of the Slovenian EU Presidency by Anita Pipan, Director-General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia, who emphasised that the European Union, as the world’s leading donor, should show solidarity with developing countries and assume responsibility for ensuring more equitable global development.
The achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in the planned period is particularly uncertain in the least developed countries. Cooperation and mutual trust will thus have to be developed in order to attain these goals. In this context, the role of the new EU Member States should be noted. Although these countries have been facing certain challenges, they have enhanced European development cooperation through their knowledge and experience, particularly in democratisation, market economy and European structures. Development aid recipients could also benefit from this, according to Director-General Pipan. Finally, she emphasised that non-governmental organisations and the general public could significantly contribute to the achievement of these goals and help improve development aid through their support.
