Chile
Operating for more than 30 years, the Chilean Agency for International Development Cooperation (AGCID) has extended its global portfolio of programmes beyond Latin America and the Caribbean to countries in Africa and Asia. Having graduated from the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) list of ODA-eligible countries in 2017, Chile is increasing its development co-operation partnerships in line with its new status as a high-income country by supporting inclusive and sustainable development in partner countries. At the same time, Chile seeks to mitigate the effects of official development assistance (ODA) graduation, playing a prominent role in international debates, including on “Development in Transition”, in partnership with countries in the region, the European Union (EU), and the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. Chile and the EU also created the Bilateral Fund for Development in Transition to support generating and strengthening regional capacities and recovery from COVID-19. Nevertheless, despite the graduation, Chile continues to have development co-operation partnerships with Germany, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, the Walloon Region of Belgium and the EU.
Chile’s vision, policies, and its 2015-18 and 2023-26 international development co-operation strategies align with the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development and Chilean foreign policy. Given its dual role as both a development co-operation provider and a beneficiary country, Chile also aims to deepen strategic partnerships for development, both North-South (Triangular Fund Chile-Spain, the Bilateral Fund for Development in Transition and KIZUNA with Japan); South-South (Pacific Alliance and Chile-Mexico Fund); and South-Global (Chile Fund and Chilean Fund for Ibero-American South-South Co-operation).
Chile is an Adherent to the OECD Recommendation of the Council for Development Co-operation Actors on Managing the Risk of Corruption and the Recommendation of the Council on Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development. In 2016 and 2019, Chile co-chaired the LAC-DAC Dialogue on Development Co-operation and participated in the third LAC-DAC Dialogue that was virtually hosted by Peru in 2021. Chile is a member of the core group of the Global Partnership Initiative on Effective Triangular Co-operation.
Cuba, Chile and the European Union jointly aimed to contribute to food security in Cuba through a triangular co-operation initiative from 2017 to 2020. With an overall budget of EUR 1.09 million, the project aimed to improve detection systems in food safety and diagnosis, surveillance, and control in animal health, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture of Cuba (MINAG). The initiative worked to strengthen the infrastructure and personnel of the laboratories in charge of the surveillance and control of diseases of animal origin in order to increase the availability of safe food for the Cuban population. Technical co-operation activities were carried out, among others, by the Chilean Agricultural and Livestock Service and equipment and supplies were purchased for laboratories belonging to MINAG.
Early results included updating the knowledge of MINAG specialists in matters of food safety and diagnosis and surveillance in animal health (level of compliance of 90.3%), and updating and increasing the availability of equipment, reagents and supplies of MINAG laboratories (level of compliance of 73%).
Source: ADELANTE (n.d.), “Contributing to Food Security for the Population of Cuba”, https://www.adelante-i.eu/en/contributing-food-security-population-cuba#descr
In South-South co-operation, Chile reports its contributions to sustainable development to the total official support for sustainable development (TOSSD) statistical framework and is a member of the TOSSD Task Force. It started reporting since TOSSD inception in 2020. It also conducted a TOSSD pilot study in 2021-22.1
In 2021, Chile reported contributions of USD 3.4 million of support for sustainable development under Pillar I of TOSSD (cross-border resources to developing countries). Of this amount, USD 2.93 million was reported in the form of South-South co-operation through technical transfer and USD 495 000 in the form of triangular co-operation. It supported focus sectors through technical and managerial training and multisector aid for basic social services. This figure does not include assessed contributions to the multilateral system since Chile does not include those contributions in its TOSSD reporting.
Despite the difficulties imposed by the pandemic, in 2021, AGCID had a budget of USD 9.9 million. Of this, AGCID spent close to USD 4.3 million on its South-South and Triangular Co-operation Program. Of these resources, 62.1% were allocated to the technical transfer component and 37.9% to human capital training.2 In addition, 88 projects transferring technical expertise were executed in 2021. Chile’s main partners were Mexico, neighbouring South American countries and regional projects. These activities focused on institutional strengthening and modernisation; social development; environment, natural resources and energy; economic co-operation for development; agriculture and food security; territorial and local development; and disaster risk reduction.
In 2021, AGCID also co-ordinated 31 co-operation projects within Chile with a value of USD 6.3 million. Of these, 11 had contributions from Germany, Japan, Mexico, Switzerland, the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, the Andean Development Corporation, the Adaptation Fund and the EU. An additional 20 projects were carried out through the Chile-Mexico Joint Co-operation Fund, from which both countries benefit.
Note: Chile’s development co-operation budget is mainly disbursed as scholarships so fluctuations in the number of recipients and amount of stipends could be a possible explanation for the decline.
Source: https://tossd.online/.
Contributions to individual Sustainable Development Goals
In 2021, Chile’s support for sustainable development mainly contributed to progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for quality education (SDG 4); peace, justice and strong institutions (SDG 16); gender equality (SDG 5); and sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11).
Source: https://tossd.online/.
Geographic focus
In 2021, USD 3.2 million of Chile’s support to sustainable development was provided to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and USD 0.2 million in Africa, constituting 92% and 6%, respectively. Chilean co-operation reached 23 countries in 2021. The partner countries that received the largest financing volumes included Mexico, Argentina, Mozambique and Peru.
Source: https://tossd.online/.
Sectoral distribution
In 2021, USD 3 million of Chile’s support to sustainable development targeted social infrastructure and services, representing 88% of its TOSSD, mostly for education (USD 1.9 million) and government and civil society (USD 0.7 million).
Source: https://tossd.online/.
In this context, Chile’s resources to TOSSD recipients were mostly distributed across the education and government and civil society sectors.
Chile engages in triangular co-operation, and data show its regional priority is Latin America. Its main partner countries in 2020 were Germany, Spain, Japan, Mexico, Switzerland, the Organization of American States, the Central American Integration System, and the EU. The main sectors of its triangular co-operation are agriculture, forestry and fishing, and government and civil society. According to TOSSD, Chile disbursed USD 495 000 in 2021. More information on Chile’s triangular co-operation projects can be found in the OECD’s voluntary triangular co-operation project repository. Chile is a core group member of the Global Partnership Initiative on Effective Triangular Co-operation. It is also chairing the Ibero-American Programme for Strengthening South-South Co-operation for 2022-24.
AGCID manages and co-ordinates bilateral, triangular and regional co-operation for incoming and outgoing development co-operation. Other partners involved in Chilean development co-operation include national public organisations (subnational and local), as well as academia, civil society organisations, philanthropy and partners from the private sector.
The Law of Modernization of the Chilean Chancellery (Law 21,080 of March 2018) grants AGCID the function of co-ordinating and administering the National System of International Co-operation, including international co-operation actions for development carried out by agencies of the state and other actors.
Chilean Agency for International Development Co-operation (AGCID): https://www.agci.cl
AGCID (2021), La Cooperación Chilena 2021 (in Spanish), Chilean Agency for International Development Co-operation, Santiago, https://www.agci.cl/images/centro_documentacion/La_Cooperacion_Chilena_2021.pdf.
AGCID (2020), Balance de Gestión Integral (BGI) 2020 (in Spanish), Chilean Agency for International Co-operation and Development, Santiago, https://www.agci.cl/images/centro_documentacion/AGCIDBGI2020.pdf.
AGCID (2019), Balance de Gestión Integral (BGI) 2019 (in Spanish), Chilean Agency for International Co-operation and Development, Santiago, https://www.agci.cl/images/centro_documentacion/AGCIDBGI2019.pdf.
AGCID (2019), “Chile-Spain Mixed Fund”, web page, https://www.agci.cl/fondo-chile-espana-menu/menu-fondo-chile-espana.
AGCID (2019), Cuentas Públicas Participativas 2018 (in Spanish), Chilean Agency for International Co-operation and Development, Santiago, https://www.agci.cl/cpublica/docs/cuenta_publica_2019.pdf.
AGCID (2019), The Chilean Agency for International Development Co-operation (brochure) (in Spanish), Chilean Agency for International Development Co-operation, Santiago, https://www.agci.cl/images/centro_documentacion/Brochure_AGCID.pdf.
AGCID (2018), Balance de Gestión Integral (BGI) 2018 (in Spanish), Chilean Agency for International Co-operation and Development, Santiago, https://www.agci.cl/images/centro_documentacion/AGCIBGI2018.pdf.
AGCID (2017), Estrategia de Cooperación Internacional de Chile para el Desarrollo 2015-2018 (in Spanish), Chilean Agency for International Cooperation and Development, Santiago, https://www.agci.cl/images/centro_documentacion/ESTRATEGIA_DE_COOPERACI%C3%93N_26nov15.pdf.
Government of Chile (2019), Informe de Ejecución Trimestral Periodo 2018 (in Spanish), Ministry of Finance, Santiago, www.dipres.gob.cl/597/articles-184210_doc_pdf.pdf.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2020), “Minister Ribera presents the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ strategic plan with a focus on strengthening alliances and the country’s image”, https://minrel.gob.cl/ministro-ribera-presenta-el-plan-estrategico-de-la-cancilleria-con-foco/minrel/2020-01-30/181457.html.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2019), “Interests of the Chilean foreign policy”, web page, https://minrel.gob.cl/minrel/site/artic/20080802/pags/20080802193244.html#vtxt_cuerpo_T1.
Chile has been a member of the OECD since 2010. It is a member of the International TOSSD Task Force. Reporting to TOSSD since 2020, on 2019 data.