Breaking Down the Myths of Triangular Co-operation in Middle East and North Africa

Abstract

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development identifies triangular cooperation as a promising modality to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Triangular cooperation is thought mainly to happen in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). This working paper shows that triangular cooperation is a modality that is also used in other regions and therefore dispels the myth that there is little triangular cooperation in the Middle East and North Africa. Arab countries and institutions engage in triangular cooperation , be it as pivotal, facilitating or beneficiary partner. Yet, their activities, approaches and solutions to tackle development challenges have not been sufficiently captured in research on the topic. Arab triangular cooperation activities are of relatively longer duration and have bigger budgets than general triangular cooperation trends; activities often follow clear guidelines and are integrated into broader development cooperation strategieseven if Arab providers do not always characterise their activities as 'triangular'. To conclude, this working paper identifies the added value of triangular cooperation in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and shows how triangular cooperation can promote further collaboration between the Arab providers and the members of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC), thus helping them to be more effective in supporting partner countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Transition finance country study of Lebanon

“…While large, remittances are primarily for private consumption contributing to social protection but not explicitly increasing productivity. Households receiving remittances benefit from higher average monthly income and show higher education expenditure while being less indebted than others (Blominvest Bank, 2014 [60]). Remittances are largely spend on food, housing costs and improving quality of life, including health and education.…”