BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 10. Humanitarian aid, development cooperation, and peacebuilding can no longer be viewed as separate areas, the President of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA), Abdullah Eren said, Trend's correspondent reports from the event.
Eren made the statement during a panel session titled “Partnerships for Sustainable Development and Effective Humanitarian Assistance,” held as part of the conference “Advancing Global Solidarity Through Humanitarian Assistance and Developmen Cooperation,” dedicated to the 15th anniversary of the founding of the International Development Cooperation Agency.
He noted that in recent years, the number of conflicts worldwide has increased, wars continue in Europe and the Middle East, and in Gaza, the displacement of people from their homes and the descent into poverty and instability are causing serious concern.
“The link between humanitarian aid, development cooperation, and peacebuilding is very important. We can no longer view them as separate areas,” Eren emphasized.
The head of TIKA stated that there are concrete examples of Turkey’s humanitarian aid, development cooperation, and peacekeeping activities in countries such as Somalia and Ukraine.
Moreover, he noted that the creation of a more representative and just world order is not a requirement imposed on any particular country.
The head of TIKA highlighted three key points from Türkiye’s experience. According to him, there is currently a shift from a vertical to a horizontal model of cooperation.
“The previous model was vertical. There were donor countries and recipient countries. Donor countries provided aid to recipient countries under certain conditions. The new model is cooperation among equals. Here, knowledge, technology, and experience flow in all directions simultaneously,” he added.
A. Eren emphasized that humanitarian aid, development cooperation, and peacebuilding are integral parts of a single process.
He cited the situation in Gaza as an example and said that the phase of providing humanitarian aid is currently underway, while the borders remain closed.
“We at TIKA are working in Ramallah, and we used to work in Gaza as well. Unfortunately, under the current circumstances, we are unable to operate there. However, these three sectors are converging, and we are now talking about a single, continuous process,” noted A. Eren.
The TIKA president also emphasized that the importance of South-South and trilateral cooperation has grown in recent years. He stated that, against the backdrop of budget cuts at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), concerns have arisen regarding the future of development cooperation.
He noted that this issue is particularly important for vulnerable African countries.
“Of course, funding is a major issue. We need large budgets. Unfortunately, official development assistance has been declining over the past few years. We cannot carry out these projects without money. But it’s not just about money. We also need expert knowledge, and we need to strengthen local institutions rather than replace them,” A. Eren said.
He noted that TIKA currently operates in 53 countries and has 57 offices.
