Recent international declarations like the 2008 Accra Agenda for Action have brought triangular co-operation to the limelight. From the 2008 UN Development Cooperation Forum to the L’Aquila G8 Summit 2009, governments have been calling for more collaboration among different development actors, claiming that aid can be more effective when Southern partners and “traditional” donors (i.e. those that gather in the OECD Development Assistance Committee) join forces through triangular co-operation.

However, it is still not clear how triangular co-operation can achieve this potential. The paper Triangular Co-operation and Aid Effectiveness, prepared for the 2009 Policy Dialogue on Development Co-operation (Mexico City), aims to shed some light on this debate by addressing the following questions:

• What are the claimed benefits of triangular co-operation vis-à-vis bilateral forms of co-operation?
• What are the challenges in rendering triangular co-operation an effective mode of development co-operation?
• How can the benefits of triangular co-operation be achieved and its challenges overcome?

Based on a study of the available literature and a series of interviews with officials engaged in triangular co-operation initiatives, we conclude that triangular co-operation may achieve good results when:

• Beneficiary countries participate actively in and have ownership over projects / programmes, helping to adapt them to local realities;
• Providers of South-South co-operation and DAC donors align to beneficiary countries’ development priorities;
• Partners delegate responsibilities based on their area of expertise, so as to use their comparative advantages at best.

What are your views on this? Can triangular co-operation increase aid effectiveness? How?