Finland will end bilateral development co-operation programmes in Afghanistan, Kenya, Mozambique and Myanmar, announced the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, Ville Tavio (Finns), at a press conference on Thursday.
Some 500 million euros will be cut from the budget for country and region-specific co-operation between 2024 and 2028.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has also proposed that multilateral cooperation programmes, including those funded by UN bodies, should get 160 million euros less. Humanitarian aid will be cut by 130 million euros.
The government programme includes a commitment to cut a billion euros from the development aid budget over the course of this parliamentary term.
In addition, some 60m million euros of loan-based financing will be cut annually.
"In development co-operation austerity is better targeted at clear, whole projects rather than cutting the same amount everywhere," said Tavio.
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