Minister Paulette Lenert is in charge of a completely new ministry and one of her predominant goals is to work on a coherent strategy for the next years, she explained on Monday morning.
She acknowledged that Luxembourg's development aid will not be as groundbreaking as in some other countries, but stressed that the country will engage continuously on a higher level. Lenert cited funding of around 1% of Luxembourg's GDP. This makes Luxembourg one of only five industrialised countries that maintains such high standards.
As for the countries benefiting from Luxembourg's aid, Lenert explained that there could be changes to which countries Luxembourg would support. She explained that the current list of seven countries benefiting from Luxembourg's development aid may be revised, although it's quite likely that all these countries will continue to receive aid. Lenert suggested that other countries could join that list.
The decision on these countries would take place as part of an open debate in the parliamentary commission. Lenert's objective is to work on criteria allowing the commission to decide which countries are eligible for Luxembourgish aid, stating that she would like to focus on African countries in the Sahel area (Mauritania, Mali, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Sudan, and Ethiopia).
As for Nicaragua, Lenert explained that it is likely that Luxembourg may not continue its development aid as the political situation in the Latin American country is simply too unstable.
