Estonia allocates nearly 1 million euros to international organisations for development cooperation in 2022

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is allocating 986,260 euros in 2022 to support the work of human rights, development cooperation and humanitarian aid organisations. The allocations are based on the Estonia’s foreign policy priorities and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN.

Foreign Minister Eva-Maria Liimets said development cooperation and humanitarian aid have been an important part of Estonia’s foreign policy for more than two decades. “We value multilateral cooperation and the preservation of the rules-based international order where international organisations play an important role, working daily to uphold democracy, human rights and universal values. In addition to opportunities, membership in international organisations entails responsibilities towards partners and the international community, which is why our contributions help to increase global stability and prosperity,” Liimets said.

Estonia supports the development cooperation and humanitarian aid initiatives of the UN, EU and other international organisations, whose aims are in line with our foreign policy priorities and add to Estonia’s role as a responsible participant in international issues.

Next year, we are contributing to several UN organisations, supporting the availability of good education and healthcare, the inclusion of women, reinforcing rule of law and democracy and the protection of human rights. We are allocating €30 000 to the UN Population Fund, 50,000 euros to UN Women, as well as 20,000 and 10,000 euros respectively to the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations and Permanent Forum respectively. Estonia has been supporting the indigenous populations fund since 1996.

Estonia considers it important to support digital transformation and actions related to digital freedoms, which is why we are allocating 50,000 euros to the Digital Defenders Partnership and 50,000 euros to the UN Development Fund. We are supporting Youth Agency Market Place, UNICEF’s innovative and green transition oriented digital platform for the young, with 50,000 euros to offer young people a chance to develop various skills, communicate with other young people and communities and access the labour market in developing countries.

Estonia is allocating 174,000 euros to the international education partnership initiative Global Partnership for Education, which we were invited to join this July. Joining this initiative allows Estonia to shape the domain of education in developing countries, take part in various education projects and open doors to Estonian education technology companies.

Estonia is also contributing to preventing and mitigating humanitarian crises, allocating 50,000 euros to the World Food Programme with part of it aimed at alleviating the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. We are also giving 50,000 euros to support the work of UN crisis evaluation and coordination teams and the studies of Belarusian students at the European Humanities University in Vilnius.