France/Les établissements publics français s'engagent ensemble au service du développement durable et de la coopération internationale

In the presence of Laurent Saint-Martin, Minister Delegate to the Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs, in charge of Foreign Trade and French Nationals Living Abroad, the AFD Group brought together for the first time on January 8, as part of its Annual Meetings, the heads of more than 30 French public establishments for a workshop aimed at reaffirming their shared commitment to putting their expertise at the service of public policy for solidarity-based and sustainable investment. The workshop resulted in the signing of a joint declaration by Élisabeth Claverie de Saint Martin, CEO of CIRAD.

This joint declaration reflects our ambition to connect the national and the international, with the dual aim of establishing a trusted peer-to-peer dialogue between foreign and French public institutions, and facilitating our own transformation in France by benefiting from the innovations that are springing up all over the world to meet global challenges.This joint declaration reflects our ambition to connect the national and the international, with the dual aim of establishing a trusted peer-to-peer dialogue between foreign and French public institutions, and facilitating our own transformation in France by benefiting from the innovations that are springing up all over the world to meet global challenges.

Eight priorities for international action

This initiative aims to strengthen France's role in international cooperation, focusing on eight priority areas in line with the guidelines set out by the Interministerial Committee for International Cooperation and Development (CICID): ecological transition, digital inclusion, reducing inequalities, food security, education, preserving biodiversity, global health and peacebuilding.

Through this declaration, public institutions commit to:
● Strengthen France's international influence through tailored collective action
● Promote a model of reciprocal cooperation based oninnovation and sustainability
● Support equitable partnerships that respect local specificities
● Contribute to the various dimensions of French diplomacy: expertise, science, culture and the economy

A number of avenues have been identified: in terms of funding, including European and international funding; in terms of human resources (training, staff exchanges, volunteers, etc.); in terms of communication and advocacy; in terms of real estate, as well as work on the international dimension in the history of each of these establishments.

The strength of this initiative lies in the diversity of the French public sector ecosystem, which combines research, expertise, innovation and engineering at all levels. The AFD Group, with its two subsidiaries, Expertise France and Proparco, is at the service of other French public institutions.

Between 2019 and 2024, the mobilization of French public expertise in AFD Group operations represents 160 million euros of commitments, spread over 54 projects involving French public establishments. This new impetus in the mobilization of French public expertise is part of a desire to contribute together effectively to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of the Agenda 2030.

Source: www.cirad.fr/