OCFA conducts a round-table on accountability and transparency in foreign aid

In order to develop a practical road map towards achieving the UAE's vision of being one of the world's top donors by 2021, participants reviewed the country's progress with regard to its foreign aid, its relative strengths as a donor, and the core areas that can be developed.

As well as assessing the progress that the UAE has made with regard to the essential components of achieving the 2021 vision, donors discussed their experience of using the tools available to enhance their accountability and transparency, such as data reporting systems and impact evaluations.

HE Hazza Al Qahtani, Director-General of OCFA said: "The UAE has already introduced many of the tools necessary for it to achieve its 2021 vision. Three comprehensive annual reports on the UAE's foreign aid have already been published. The production of the UAE Foreign Aid Reporting Framework is another milestone in enhancing the transparency of the country's aid donations. Likewise, several of the UAE's top donors are already benefitting from conducting evaluations into the impact of their work, so that they can continuously improve the quality and relevance of the assistance that they provide to those in need".

Al Qahtani continued, "The UAE Government has repeatedly stressed the importance of accountability and transparency in all its programs. OCFA is supporting this commitment by, among other things, issuing annual foreign aid reports and introducing international best practices to UAE donor organizations through its capacity-building events."

The workshop was chaired by HE Sultan al Shamsi, and discussions were facilitated by experts from OCFA.