Turkey’s expanding aid role

Turkey has increased its development cooperation contributions significantly over the last decade. In 2014, its official development assistance (ODA) surpassed the volume of Danish aid.

In this contribution to a collection of papers published by the United Nations University Centre for Policy Research on ‘Alternative Forms of Development Cooperation’, Jeannine Hausmann and Erik Lundsgaarde provide an overview of Turkish cooperation priorities, compare Turkey’s aid profile with other donors, and suggest entry points for engagement with Turkey as a development actor.

Still an aid recipient, Turkey has a strong bilateral cooperation focus, prioritizing humanitarian aid within its regional neighborhood and support for fragile states. Showing affinities for the normative agenda of the OECD-DAC and adopting a holistic approach to cooperation similar to other emerging economies, the Turkish model defies easy categorization.

Bilateral and multilateral outreach to encourage Turkish participation in country-level coordination processes should be promoted for the sake of mutual learning and ensuring a complementary division of labor.