Partnership Group for Aid Effectiveness (PGAE)

The Partnership Group for Aid Effectiveness (PGAE) is a formalised forum to coordinate, discuss and monitor aid effectiveness in Vietnam. The High Level Forums on Aid Effectiveness and, finally, the Paris Declaration in 2003 and localised Hanoi Core Statement provided the final impetus to formalisation of the PGAE as the coordinating body responsible for following up on Vietnam's Paris commitments. The forum ultimately acts as a coordinator in Vietnam for the Government of Vietnam, donors and other stakeholders to implement the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and the Hanoi Core Statement on Aid Effectiveness.

Participants

Membership of the PGAE consists of:

  • representatives of relevant Government of Vietnam agencies;
  • representatives of the Inter-Ministerial Task Force;
  • representatives of bilateral and multilateral donor agencies;
  • associate members, such as representatives of civil society organisations (CSOs) and international non-government organisations (INGOs).

PGAE meetings are co-chaired by a government and a donor representative, with the latter being appointed by mutual consensus among all donors on a rotation basis every six months. Participants to the meetings include Government of Vietnam officials and representatives of all donor agencies present in the country, namely: representatives of the Like Minded Donor Group (Canada, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Australia), the 5 Bank group, EU, UN/UNDP, Japan and the US. The Director of the Foreign Economic Relations Department (FERD) of the Ministry of Planning and Investment acts as government representatives but representatives from key ministries such as Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development, etc. have also been progressively more involved in the group. Development counsellors normally represent donors.

Non-government stakeholders

CSOs, INGOs, the private sector and other community groups are increasingly engaged in the aid effectiveness agenda. They play an important and productive role in assisting Vietnam to reach its development goals, including through helping to achieve the objectives of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and the Hanoi Core Statement on Aid Effectiveness.

Non-government stakeholders have a role in the PGAE in terms of advocating on development issues, funding development activities with their own resources, and tracking how effectively official development assistance (ODA) is used in Vietnam. They play a key role in feeding lessons learnt on the ground from their activities to the PGAE and other partnership groups. They also engage communities in the development process, thereby contributing to the improvement of ODA utilisation in Vietnam, especially with regards to aid effectiveness, and are therefore seen as important stakeholders in PGAE operations.

Activities

The PGAE is an effective platform to discuss the challenges, lessons learnt and practical ways to advance the implementation of the Paris commitments in a participatory and binding environment. Although there is no formal mandate or Terms of Reference, participants meet on regular bases (at least once a month) to address different issues of the harmonisation agenda and propose solutions. Participation is completely voluntary and decisions are based on mutual acceptance and consensus.

The PGAE takes a pro-active role in sharing information and in building consensus on aid effectiveness issues through:

  1. Making links between the technical and aid effectiveness policy agendas
  2. Exploring and dealing with policy and strategic issues in aid effectiveness
  3. Developing and supporting the realisation of aid effectiveness through annual plans
  4. Coordinating the efforts of all stakeholders, especially SPGs and ISGs, and non-government stakeholders etc., on aid effectiveness platforms
  5. Providing professional advice on how to take the aid effectiveness agenda forward

Further reading