The new report from the Basque Public Cooperation Portal provides information on the international cooperation initiatives supported in 2023 by the main public institutions in the Basque Country

Basque public development cooperation institutions supported 1,299 initiatives in 65 countries last year. They allocated a total of 83.6 million euros, which was managed by 238 Basque NGDOs and 361 organisations in impoverished countries. These figures are available in the report Basque Cooperation in Figures 2023, published on the Basque Public Cooperation Portal.

The American continent was the geographical area that received the greatest amount of funds (51.65%). It was followed by Sub-Saharan Africa, where the funds received (25.87%) increased by 16.36% compared to the previous year.

The main recipient countries were Guatemala, Colombia, El Salvador and Peru. The Basque Country ranked as the fifth largest recipient in the overall total, with regards to education for social transformation projects and initiatives to support the Ukrainian refugee population.

A total of 4.6% of the funds went to Palestine, mainly due to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. In total, over 2.5 million euros was earmarked for humanitarian and emergency action projects to support the Palestinian population. The funds allocated to Lebanon (1,580,000 euros) were mainly for projects to support the Palestinian refugee population in that country.

Contribution to the 2030 Agenda and its approaches

For the second consecutive year, the report analyses the contribution of Basque public cooperation institutions to the 2030 Agenda. The main contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) went towards SDG 5 (achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls), SDG 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions) and SDG 10 (reduced inequalities).

Of the total 83.6 million euros, 62.47% financed international development cooperation initiatives and 17.99% contributed to humanitarian and emergency action.

Some 11.88% of the funds went to education for social transformation initiatives in the Basque Country, mainly to projects in the fields of training and awareness-raising.

An inter-institutional transparency initiative

The Basque Public Cooperation Portal is an inter-institutional initiative aimed at promoting transparency, harmonisation and coordination in the field of development cooperation.

It is a tool promoted by the Basque Government/eLankidetza-Basque Agency for Cooperation and Solidarity, the provincial councils of Álava, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa, the city councils of Bilbao, Donostia-San Sebastian and Vitoria-Gasteiz, Euskal Fondoa and, as of this year, also by the Zarautz City Council.

It has been providing data since 2014 and has been supported since its inception by the Hegoa Institute of the University of the Basque Country (UBC).

Title: La cooperación vasca en cifras 2023 / Euskal lankidetza zenbakitan 2023 / Basque development cooperation in figures 2023
Author: Portal de la Cooperación Pública Vasca / Euskal Lankidetza Publikoaren Ataria
Date and place: Vitoria-Gasteiz, 2024 
Language: Español, euskera, inglés
Infographics: Español (1, 2), euskera (1, 2)