This report presents the findings of the 2025 development co-operation peer review of the Slovak Republic and includes the relevant peer review recommendations approved by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC). The report focuses on three areas of the Slovak Republic’s development co-operation which were selected in consultation with Slovak partners and government representatives. First, it analyses the Slovak Republic’s overall development co-operation and humanitarian assistance policy as well as the resources available to achieve its objectives. It then looks at the institutional arrangements and management systems to see if they are fit for purpose. Finally, it considers how the Slovak Republic engages strategically with partners, including the European Union, to enhance impact. For each of these areas, the report identifies the Slovak Republic’s strengths and the factors contributing to its achievements as well as the challenges and risks it faces, and the opportunities that lie ahead.
OECD Development Co‑operation Peer Reviews: Slovak Republic 2025
Abstract
In 2023, the Slovak Republic celebrated 20 years of development co‑operation and 10 years as a member of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC). The first DAC Peer Review of the Slovak Republic, published in 2019, acknowledged its valuable support to partner countries, often shaped by its own transformative development experience. As a country that has successfully transitioned from an aid recipient to an aid donor, the Slovak Republic brings unique insights to its partnerships, including in areas such as supporting democratic governance, economic transformation and institutional knowledge. The 2019 review also commended the Slovak Republic for its remarkable leadership in international fora such as the Organisation for Security and Co‑operation in Europe (OSCE), the Human Rights Council and the United Nations (UN) General Assembly (OECD, 2019[1]).
Recent political developments in the Slovak Republic present a challenging context for development co‑operation
Frequent government changes have delayed the updating and revision of the Slovak Republic’s development co‑operation policy. The Slovak Republic experienced a significant political shift during the review period, with five different governments in office since 2019. The changes in leadership have had an impact on the official development assistance (ODA) system, contributing to delays in the development of strategic planning and policy documents such as the Medium-Term Strategy for Development Cooperation of the Slovak Republic for 2025‑2030 (MFEA, 2025[2]), a global education strategy and a humanitarian strategy. Limited political debate on development co-operation has made it challenging to raise awareness and advance reforms to strengthen the Slovak development co-operation system.
The current government, in office since October 2023, maintains the Slovak Republic’s commitment to the European Union while recalibrating its foreign policy focus. The government is led by Prime Minister Robert Fico from the Slovak Social Democracy Party (SMER), who is serving his fourth non-consecutive term as prime minister. The coalition also includes the left-conservative Voice-Social Democracy (Hlas-SD) and the nationalist Slovak National Party (SNS). While remaining committed to EU membership, the government has voiced reservations about certain EU policies, for example concerning certain aspects of EU policy towards Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The Slovak Republic, which has historically been reliant on Russian natural gas imported via Ukraine for both its own use and for re-export to other European countries, has advocated for exemptions to proposed EU sanctions to avoid disruptions to its energy imports. It has only recently intensified its efforts to diversify gas supply sources (IEA, 2024[3]).
Ukraine has been the main recipient of Slovak ODA since 2022, receiving an average of USD 8.7 million in humanitarian and development assistance in 2022 and 2023, equalling 22% of its total bilateral ODA. This was in addition to support offered to Ukrainian refugees transiting through or seeking temporary protection in the Slovak Republic. As of early 2025, the Slovak Republic was hosting around 120 000 Ukrainian refugees – equivalent to 2% of its population (EIU, 2025[4]).
Recent amendments to Slovak non-profit legislation may affect civil society partners in development co‑operation. In April 2025, the Slovak Parliament adopted changes requiring civil society organisations (CSOs) to disclose their funding sources and the names of major contributors, with fines and potential dissolution for those who fail to comply. In addition, the government has asked to be informed of any new contracts signed with CSOs. These new requirements add an additional administrative burden. Dialogue between the government and development-focused CSOs has traditionally been constructive. Nevertheless, these developments may affect an important segment of the country’s ODA architecture, given that CSOs channelled 19.4% of bilateral ODA in 2023.
Fiscal consolidation is narrowing the space for larger development co‑operation budgets
The economy has shown resilience despite the COVID‑19 pandemic and the energy crisis triggered by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 4.4% in 2020 due to the global pandemic but rebounded in 2021. In 2022-23, government measures and diversification of energy supply helped cushion the energy price shocks resulting from the war in Ukraine. However, amid high inflation, weak foreign demand and tighter financial conditions, GDP growth remained well below pre-pandemic levels, slowing to 1.8% in 2022 and 1.1% in 2023 (OECD, 2024[5]). Growth rebounded in 2024 and is projected to exceed 2% in 2025 and 2026, driven by strong nominal wage growth, easing of financial conditions, higher absorption of EU Recovery and Resilience funds and an expected recovery in foreign demand (OECD, 2024[6]).
Fiscal sustainability has become a priority in the wake of crises-related deficits and public debt, with direct implications for the bilateral ODA budget. During the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent energy crisis, the government implemented substantial fiscal support measures – particularly for pensioners and vulnerable populations – which contributed to a growing budget deficit exceeding 5% of GDP in both 2020 and 2021. To stabilise public finances and prevent potential penalties from the European Union under the excessive deficit procedure, in October 2024 the government adopted a fiscal consolidation plan targeting a reduction in the government deficit of less than 3% of GDP by 2027 (down from over 5% in 2023‑24). The plan includes several revenue-raising measures such as an increase in the basic value added tax (VAT) rate, higher corporate income taxes and greater social contributions from large companies and high-income earners, while also targeting cuts in spending (OECD, 2024[6]). These cuts led to a 26% reduction in the bilateral ODA budget for 2024 (preliminary data), particularly affecting the budget of the Slovak Agency for International Development Cooperation (SAIDC).1
Several institutions engage in development co‑operation under the brand of SlovakAid
The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (MFEA) is mandated co‑ordinate development co‑operation activities. Act No 392/2015 on development co‑operation stipulates that the MFEA is the national co‑ordinator for development co‑operation and tasks it with proposing a strategy in line with the Slovak Republic’s development co‑operation policy. The MFEA is responsible for ensuring the implementation of the strategy, providing humanitarian assistance in co‑operation with other relevant authorities, advancing co‑operation with national and foreign development co‑operation actors, increasing public awareness around development co-operation activities and evaluating the development co‑operation efforts of both central government bodies and SAIDC (Government of the Slovak Republic, 2019[7]). In 2007, the MFEA established SAIDC as its main implementing agency. Embassies also contribute to implementation through micro-grants and in-country presence via development diplomats.
The Slovak Republic’s development co‑operation system operates under the unified brand of SlovakAid. In addition to the MFEA and SAIDC, several other government actors contribute to the Slovak Republic’s development co‑operation activities. The Ministry of Finance contributes the largest share of the Slovak Republic’s ODA through core and voluntary funding to multilateral organisations as well as bilateral co‑operation in the areas of public financial management, good governance and private sector development. Eximbanka, the state-owned export-import bank supervised by the Ministry of Finance, has the mandate to provide concessional loans, including through EU instruments as of 2025, although it has not yet made use of this mandate. Several other line ministries manage sector-specific activities, such as scholarships, technical support and humanitarian assistance. All activities are presented under the official brand name of SlovakAid. The Coordination Committee for Development Cooperation provides a platform for co‑ordination and the preparation of the Slovak Republic’s medium-term development co‑operation strategy and annual bilateral co‑operation plans. It meets annually at state-secretary level. The Committee has created working groups for the preparation of the 2025‑30 medium-term strategy and for concessional lending, which meet on an ad hoc basis (Figure 1).
Source: Based on MFEA (2025[8]), DAC Peer Review Self-assessment of the Slovak Republic; 2025 budget data based on MFEA (2025[9]), Annual Bilateral Development Cooperation Plan 2025 (in Slovak), https://slovakaid.sk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Zameranie-ODA-SR-2025.pdf.
Focusing policy objectives on its comparative advantage could strengthen the Slovak Republic’s visibility and impact of development co‑operation activities
The Slovak Republic has a solid policy framework to guide development co‑operation, based on a five-year strategy and annual plans. The 2015 Act on Development Co‑operation, last amended in 2019, mandates the MFEA to develop medium-term strategies that lay out objectives and principles, geographic and territorial priorities, as well as programmes and instruments for Slovak development co‑operation. Both the 2019‑23 strategy (extended to 2024) and the 2025‑30 strategy were developed in a whole-of-government effort and in consultation with civil society. The strategies are aligned with the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Based on the strategy, the government develops annual bilateral co‑operation plans to propose focus areas and activities for the following year and an indicative budget outlook for the following two years, providing some predictability on planned resource allocation. The annual plans are prepared and approved in a consultative process involving all relevant ministries and state administration bodies.
The 2025-30 medium-term strategy introduces a “GREEN” programme to sharpen the Slovak Republic’s thematic focus, but this may risk increasing fragmentation. The new 2025‑30 strategy continues the thematic priority areas set out in the 2019 strategy – infrastructure, agriculture, markets, health, education and governance – while introducing the GREEN programme, which covers environment, climate change and the circular economy. The programme is intended to strengthen the thematic coherence of SlovakAid’s activities, provide more predictable support and improve measurability of results (MFEA, 2025[2]). The programme will be implemented primarily through separate project grants, allocated through calls for proposals. However, as the Slovak Republic does not traditionally have a clear comparative advantage in “green” sectors – with the possible exception of water treatment – some partners worry that the new focus might divert attention and resources away from areas where the Slovak Republic has developed expertise and trusted partnerships (e.g. health and education in Kenya). It will therefore be important to monitor and evaluate whether the GREEN programme successfully mainstreams green issues and increases coherence across activities, or whether it inadvertently introduces new areas of work that could fragment SlovakAid’s portfolio further. Active involvement by the Ministry of Environment will be vital in shaping the programme’s strategic direction.
Setting clear strategic priorities, based on its strengths and value added, is critical for the Slovak Republic to improve focus and coherence in its activities. The 2025-30 strategy recognises the need to better focus ODA interventions and plans to assign one or more sectoral priorities to each partner country or region. It also places a stronger emphasis on engaging the private sector as a partner in development, aiming to leverage private capital to enhance impact. Whether the Slovak Republic chooses a geographic focus (e.g. its programme countries) or a thematic focus (e.g. the new GREEN programme), narrowing down the strategic objectives of the 2025-30 strategy will be important to allow for sufficient focus and scale to move towards larger interventions and flagship programmes that could bring the visibility and impact SlovakAid is looking for. The Slovak Republic is recognised for its expertise in financial management and good governance in the Western Balkans, water management in Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East, and cybersecurity, digital education and cardiovascular health in Kenya. These strengths provide a good basis for identifying clear, narrow priorities and establishing flagship programmes that would increase the effectiveness of SlovakAid’s activities. A robust results-based management system will be critical to understanding impact, informing strategic decisions and ensuring that resources are consistently directed toward approaches that deliver meaningful results.
While ODA allocations generally align with thematic priorities, environment and gender considerations are yet to be fully mainstreamed. In 2023, in line with the priorities of the previous medium-term strategy, bilateral ODA primarily targeted the health sector (33%), government and civil society (20%) and education (9%), with another 9% targeting emergency-response activities. However, for the 2022-23 period, on average only 7.9% of bilateral allocable ODA targeted the environment and 15.6% of screened bilateral allocable ODA was committed to gender equality annually. This is well below the DAC averages of 34% for the environment and 46% for gender equality, indicating room to strengthen integration of these themes across development interventions. Since the establishment of these two cross-cutting themes in the 2019‑23 medium-term strategy, SAIDC has issued handbooks, provided training and outlined grant application requirements (see Annex B), which have helped improve integration of environment and gender equality into project grants (MFEA, 2024[10]). To build on this progress, the Slovak Republic should continue working towards the effective mainstreaming of these cross-cutting themes, including by strengthening policy dialogue with line ministries, civil society and partners to deepen understanding of gender equality and environmental sustainability beyond numerical targets, with a focus on systemic change. Achieving a meaningful step change will also require capacity building and leadership commitment at senior levels to signal that mainstreaming these themes is a strategic priority across all areas of development co‑operation. Dedicated monitoring and evaluation mechanisms can help track and promote uptake of existing guidance and effectiveness of mainstreaming. The new GREEN programme presents an opportunity to further advance sustainability mainstreaming across all activities.
Progress has been made in narrowing geographic focus, but this could be better reflected in ODA allocations
The geographic focus of bilateral co‑operation has narrowed over time but remains too broad relative to the modest bilateral ODA budget. The 2019‑23 medium-term strategy identified 24 “partner countries” in four regions: the Western Balkans, the EU Eastern Partnership region, East Africa and the Middle East. In response to the 2019 DAC peer review and an independent evaluation – both of which underscored the need for a greater geographic focus – the 2025‑30 strategy reduced the number of partners to 19 (see Table 1). While the new strategy retains the core regional priorities, it signals a shift in engagement with the Western Balkans, anticipating reduced bilateral support as EU integration progresses and opportunities for collaboration via EU-financed instruments increase, while introducing Central Asia as a region of emerging interest, reflecting a pragmatic effort to align with ongoing activities, interests of different SlovakAid stakeholders and possible foreign policy objectives. However, in light of the limited bilateral development co‑operation budget (USD 38.1 million in 2023), the continued dispersion of resources across multiple regions may undermine efforts to strengthen SlovakAid’s visibility, long-term relevance and impact in partner countries. Striking a balance between flexibility and focus remains a critical challenge for SlovakAid’s future engagement strategy.
The designation of three “programme” countries has enabled the Slovak Republic to test more diverse forms of bilateral co‑operation and provides an opportunity for scaling up, leading to more visible results. Both the 2019 and 2025 medium-term strategies identify Georgia, Kenya and the Republic of Moldova (hereafter Moldova) as “programme” countries, i.e. priority partners which should benefit from more comprehensive and diverse interventions, higher financial allocation and staff presence through development diplomats, as well as specific bilateral country programmes. In line with these ambitions, SlovakAid has piloted multi-annual programming in Moldova and Kenya (see section entitled Engaging strategically with partners) and engaged in Team Europe Initiatives and EU delegated co‑operation in all three countries. To support more strategic engagement, in 2021, SlovakAid introduced multi-annual “Country Strategy Papers” to better focus activities and align them to partner country needs. The papers outline principles, objectives and priorities, but they lack a results framework and were too broad to meaningfully guide activities in practice. The development of the new Country Strategy Papers for the 2025‑30 medium-term strategy present an opportunity to enhance their utility as a strategic planning tool. This will require a sharper focus on a more limited set of objectives, underpinned by simple theories of change that are proportionate to the scale of SlovakAid’s presence and resources in the country. It will also require sufficient financial resources to be allocated to the three programme countries.
Note: * least developed country; ** This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244/99 and the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on Kosovo’s declaration of independence.
Source: MFEA (2025[2]), Medium-Term Strategy of Development Cooperation of the Slovak Republic for 2025-2030 (in Slovak), https://slovakaid.sk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/3.-Vlastny-material.pdf.
The Slovak Republic has made process in aligning its bilateral ODA allocations to its geographic priorities; however, further concentration would support more visible impacts in “programme” and “partner” countries. Between 2019 and 2023, the Slovak Republic made progress in concentrating its development co‑operation, reducing the number of countries receiving funding from 43 to 36. However, ODA still reached well beyond those countries identified as “programme” and “partner” countries in the strategy. During this period, nearly half of bilateral ODA was allocated to countries not designated as such (Figure 2). Moreover, only five of the top fifteen recipient countries were “programme” and “partner” countries. On average, each received about USD 1 million per year, making it challenging to achieve visible and long-lasting impacts. Donations of COVID-19 vaccines in response to the pandemic accounted for the largest activity in non-partner countries in budgetary terms. However, funding also targeted scholarship and volunteer programmes, expertise-sharing projects implemented by different ministries, and project grants to the private sector (which are not limited by geography). The Slovak Republic does not publish or plan bilateral allocations on a country-by-country basis, which makes it harder to ensure predictability and strategic targeting across its partner countries.
While most “partner countries” are upper-middle income countries, the Slovak Republic aims to apply a poverty and inequality perspective by emphasising support to the least developed regions within countries. Of the 19 chosen “partner” countries, 10 are upper-middle income countries. This reflects the Slovak Republic’s focus on economic and societal transition in the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe. In 2023, 71% of the Slovak Republic’s bilateral ODA targeted lower and upper-middle income countries; while 6.9% reached least developed countries (LDCs); with less than 1% reaching LDCs listed among the Slovak Republic’s “partner” countries. However, the Slovak Republic aims to apply a poverty and inequality perspective by emphasising support to the least developed regions within countries. For example, two of the three development grants allocated to Kenya in 2023 are implemented in the rural county of Turkana, in addition to the provision of micro-grants for the rural Kilifi County.
Note: Calculations consider 3 “programme” and 21 “partner countries” identified in the 2019-23 medium-term strategy. The “Other” category includes other countries that received bilateral ODA as well as ODA that is not attributed to specific countries (i.e. regional allocations and unspecified ODA). Regional allocations and unspecified ODA accounted for 27% of bilateral ODA provided in 2019‑23.
Source: OECD (2025[11]), OECD Data Explorer, Creditor Reporting System (database), http://data-explorer.oecd.org/s/3c.
ODA volumes have increased since 2019, but protecting and better focusing programmable aid remains essential
The Slovak Republic is highly unlikely to meet its ODA commitment. ODA reached USD 191 million in 2024 (USD 161 in 2022 prices, see Figure 3), or 0.14% of gross national income (GNI; preliminary 2024 data). ODA spending has been rather stagnant over the long term. It increased by about 40% in real terms over 2019‑22, but this was largely caused by allocations to measures of a non-systematic nature, such as debt relief and donation of COVID-19 vaccines, as well as increasing contributions to EU institutions. Following a peak in 2022, ODA has declined (Figure 3). The Slovak Republic has repeatedly stated its commitment to devoting 0.33% of GNI to ODA by 2030, but there are currently no confirmed intentions for meeting this target. To achieve this objective, the Slovak Republic would need to increase ODA by around EUR 48 million annually. This would have meant an increase in total ODA spending of almost 30% in 2024 (MFEA, 2025[2]). While total ODA forecasts are not available, the bilateral budget is expected to increase by 15% over the 2025‑28 period (MFEA, 2025[9]).
Notes: ODA volumes for 2015-17 are calculated as net flows; from 2018 onwards, they are calculated on a grant-equivalent basis. Given that the Slovak Republic provided all its ODA as grants from 2015 to 2022, net flows equal grant equivalent. *2024 data is preliminary.
Source: OECD (2025[11]), OECD Data Explorer, Creditor Reporting System (database), http://data-explorer.oecd.org/s/3c.
Fiscal consolidation has impacted programmable ODA, making it crucial to maintain and strengthen the predictability of bilateral aid. In 2023, 21.7% of ODA (USD 38.1 million) was provided bilaterally, a share which the Slovak Republic aims to increase to 35% by 2030 (MFEA, 2025[2]). However, bilateral ODA decreased by 26% in 2024 due to the fiscal consolidation process, reducing the share to 15.5% (USD 29.8 million). The Slovak Republic programmes a high share of its bilateral aid at country level (about 62% in country programmable aid [CPA] in 2023, well above the DAC average of 43.6%), but this is largely explained by COVID-19-related spending (e.g. vaccine donations), which accounted for half of CPA in 2023. The decrease in bilateral ODA in 2024 affected SAIDC’s budget in particular, forcing it to revise the programmable bilateral allocation it oversees. For example, allocations through project grants via SAIDC’s call for proposals, micro-grants, and technical assistance through the Sharing Slovak Expertise (SSE) programme, declined by 71%, 80% and 43% respectively (see section entitled Engaging strategically with partners for a description of these instruments). A reallocation of EUR 3.5 million in unused Ministry of Defence funds towards demining equipment for Ukraine partially offset this decline, but such end-of-year spending, while valuable, does not support long-term, programmable aid. Reinforcing the availability and predictability of country-focused funding to partner countries is critical for partners to maintain strong implementation capacity and a pre-requisite to developing more strategic and stable programming in partner countries.
New budgeting rules provide an opportunity to improve the predictability and planning of ODA, but they will require a shift in approach. In 2024, an amendment to the Act on Budgetary Rules eliminated the “n+2 rule,” which had allowed the MFEA and SAIDC to carry forward unspent funds from one budgetary year to another within the next two years. This change, which entered into force in August 2024, aligns with the EU’s economic governance framework (European Commission, 2024[12]). At its core are multi-annual medium-term fiscal structural plans that require a shift towards more forward-looking planning, programming and budgeting for Slovak ODA – moving from an annual to a rolling three-year budget cycle. In the short term, SAIDC will need to change how it operates and manages its cash flow, from rolling over unspent funds to mitigate variable budget execution rates of partners and annual budget volatility, to medium-term planning. The change gives the MFEA and SAIDC an opportunity to set medium-term budgets, making it easier to design larger, longer-term development programmes that can lead to greater visibility and impact. Medium-term planning and budgeting can also reduce dependence on annual decision making and thus strengthen strategic continuity, helping to bridge the gap between annual bilateral co‑operation plans and the broader five-year strategy. Multi-year budgeting could also facilitate rapid response mechanisms or framework agreements with partners to accelerate the delivery of humanitarian assistance – similar to measures implemented by other DAC members with comparable levels of ODA.
The Slovak Republic reported less than 5% of total gross bilateral ODA as refugee costs in 2023, well below the DAC total of 18.3%. The Slovak Republic excludes expenditures for supporting refugees from Ukraine under temporary protection from ODA reporting, even though DAC reporting rules would allow for this. This approach is in line with the DAC’s clarifications on in-donor refugee costs, which encourage members to follow a conservative approach for counting these costs, given the potential impact on development co‑operation budgets (OECD, 2025[13]). Excluding such costs enhances transparency on the volumes of ODA reaching developing countries and lowers the risk of crowding out resources for development programming.
The Slovak Republic has stepped up its humanitarian assistance, but needs to modernise its processes to enhance reactivity
In response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the Slovak Republic has significantly enhanced its humanitarian aid. In 2022, it provided USD 6.6 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine, nearly six times the amount it had provided for humanitarian causes on average per year in the preceding five years. Support focused on the provision of Slovak demining systems and the related training of Ukrainian specialists, food and hygiene items, psycho-social assistance, in-kind aid such as winterisation support, financial contributions for enhancing the resilience of the energy sector, as well as support to refugees who applied for temporary protection in the Slovak Republic. The Slovak Republic also supported the establishment and operation of a humanitarian logistical hub in the east of Ukraine under the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) and the innovative collaboration of the private sector (Amazon, 2022[14]).
The Slovak Republic is recognised as a considerate partner that is sensitive to local needs in its humanitarian response. This responsiveness is made possible through the important role played by Slovak embassies on the ground. For example, in response to the floods caused by unusually heavy rain in Eastern Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzania (hereafter Tanzania) in 2024, the Slovak Republic’s food deliveries took into account local preferences and nutritional requirements. The Slovak Republic’s focus on the poorest regions in “partner countries” and efforts to address the needs of the elderly and individuals with mental health challenges in Ukraine are also positively acknowledged.
The Slovak Republic has shown that it can adapt its processes to respond to crises, but it needs to modernise its mechanisms to ensure a rapid response. The Slovak Republic’s humanitarian assistance mechanism, established in 2006, relies on two main pillars: 1) material humanitarian aid, primarily involving the Ministry of Interior managing emergency stocks (partially deployed through the EU UCPM); and 2) financial support provided by the MFEA to humanitarian partners. The bulk of financial support is delivered through financial contributions following ministerial decision (75% of humanitarian ODA in 2024), rather than project grants to CSOs or other partners (9%), due to their faster potential for delivery. Disbursements through financial contributions through ministerial decision can be issued in under two weeks, while calls for proposals often take two to three months to process. As with other DAC members using similar processes, the Slovak Republic is constrained by its reliance on calls for proposals for humanitarian action. In response to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, SlovakAid proved to be highly agile and processed a call for proposals in only ten working days. However, in the case of humanitarian aid to Ukraine in 2022, it took nearly three months for project grants to be allocated and disbursed to partners. Co‑ordination between the MFEA and activities of the Ministry of Interior and others was ensured by a special task force in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (see section entitled Institutional arrangements and management systems).
A new humanitarian approach needs to ensure faster response capacity and effective co‑ordination among relevant ministries and with partners. In line with the 2019 DAC peer review, from 2019-21, the MFEA and the Ministry of Interior started to develop a humanitarian strategy to identify a unified vision and reflect the evolution of humanitarian policies and practice. However, this work stalled due to capacity constraints linked to the sudden onset of the crisis in Ukraine. To speed up financial support for future emergencies, the Slovak Republic could expand its modalities to include framework agreements with pre-certified partners, allowing for quicker resource distribution when crises arise – a practice adopted by other DAC members with similar levels of ODA, such as Hungary, Iceland and Slovenia. In Iceland, for example, CSOs interested in receiving project grants for humanitarian or development purposes must undergo an external audit and due diligence assessment. If their systems and internal controls are found to be of sufficient quality, the government can enter into formal framework partnership agreements with these CSOs based on shared objectives. Such agreements are accompanied by grants that support capacity building and, importantly, position CSOs to react rapidly so that resources can quickly be disbursed to trusted partners when a crisis breaks out (OECD, 2023[15]). Similarly, Slovenia established strategic partnerships with two CSOs to enable faster emergency responses (OECD, 2024[16]). A new humanitarian strategy could formally assign the MFEA a lead role in co‑ordinating relevant actors on a regular basis – moving beyond ad-hoc mechanisms – to strengthen the Slovak Republic’s preparedness and response capacity for emerging crises.
SlovakAid benefits from highly committed staff, but capacity constraints limit opportunities for more strategic programming and engagement
The Slovak Republic has a small but highly dedicated team to manage and deliver its development co‑operation. As of early 2025, 33 staff worked exclusively on development, a relatively modest workforce compared to DAC members with similar volumes of country programmable aid, such as Lithuania and Iceland (Figure 4). Of the 33 members of staff, 30 are based at headquarters (18 at SAIDC, 9 at the MFEA and 3 at the Ministry of Finance), with 3 posted abroad (two development diplomats and another diplomat in Brussels).2 The number of staff has decreased since the 2019 review (which reported 39 full-time personnel), in part due to the fiscal consolidation which eliminated two positions at SAIDC and one at MFEA in 2024. Reductions in staff size have compounded an already high workload and will likely impede operational effectiveness.
Day-to-day operations reduce SAIDC’s capacity to engage strategically. Of SAIDC’s 18 staff, 14 positions are permanent and 4 are temporary, tied to EU delegated co‑operation projects (one additional temporary position is currently vacant). Most permanent staff positions focus on managing around a dozen calls for proposals for project grants each year. This includes developing guidance, supporting applicants, ranking proposals and overseeing project implementation (see section entitled Engaging strategically with partners). This administrative focus leaves limited capacity for higher-level strategic engagement such as strengthening country-level co‑ordination or positioning SAIDC for future EU delegated co‑operation projects. This is compounded by the dispersion of the Slovak Republic’s bilateral ODA across countries and sectors, which makes it harder to monitor projects effectively and develop geographic or thematic specialisation. To improve both efficiency and impact, there is scope to rebalance the nature of roles within SAIDC, ensuring that teams have the space, mandate and resources to focus on tasks that strengthen SAIDC’s operational and strategic priorities. The shift to multi-year budgeting (see section entitled Aligning policy objectives and resources) and the Slovak Republic’s ambition to play a stronger role in EU delegated co‑operation require continuous investment in staff development, including in areas such as public financial management and procurement in compliance with EU standards.3 Continued investment in the professionalisation of SAIDC remains important to position it as a confident and capable implementing partner.
EU delegated co‑operation provides opportunities to increase staff and steps are being taken to facilitate the posting of development experts abroad. A mismatch in timelines between the length of EU delegated projects and Slovak employment laws is a first obstacle to staff increases. EU projects typically last three to four years, but the Slovak Labour Code limits fixed-term contracts to two years, causing operational inefficiencies such as workflow disruptions and loss of institutional knowledge when professionals leave mid-project. This also makes it hard for SAIDC to attract skilled staff. One of the four temporary positions linked to EU co‑operation is currently vacant. Since March 2025, SAIDC staff can be formally posted abroad for EU delegated co‑operation projects – a welcome reform that resolves an important constraint which previously limited SAIDC staff to short-term visits. SAIDC’s successful completion of the EU Pillar 5 assessment on procurement in the same month has further enabled the agency to hire local staff in partner countries. These changes strengthen SAIDC’s ability to expand its presence in partner countries and capitalise on EU delegated co‑operation opportunities.
Strengthening human-resource capacity and continuity remains a key challenge for SlovakAid. SAIDC offers specialised training to staff in areas such as language skills, accounting and quality management. Development diplomat positions are generally assigned to SAIDC staff as an opportunity to gain valuable field experience. However, once posted, development diplomats are no longer eligible for SAIDC (or MFEA) training, limiting their ongoing professional development.4 Moreover, relying solely on SAIDC staff to fill these positions has created recruitment challenges; for example, the development diplomat position in Kyiv has been vacant for over one year, highlighting the difficulty of filling a hardship post from a small pool of SAIDC experts. Expanding rotation options across SAIDC and the MFEA, opening posts to a wider pool of qualified professionals and enhancing incentives, particularly for hardship postings, could help boost career prospects and build a more resilient and motivated cadre of development professionals. Staff rotation within the MFEA, while a standard feature of a diplomatic career, makes it difficult to maintain technical expertise and long-term relationships with partners. Staff turnover following the change in government in 2023 also affected institutional knowledge and partnerships across SlovakAid institutions, including Eximbanka and the Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Education. Addressing these challenges will be important to ensure continuity, coherence and sustained impact across SlovakAid’s activities.
Development diplomats are central to ensuring SlovakAid’s relevance and responsiveness in partner countries, yet their number has not increased over the review period. The Slovak Embassy in Ukraine played a critical role in responding quickly to Russia’s full-scale invasion, and in Kenya, the Embassy has a clear steer of how it uses SlovakAid’s flexibility to support the country’s greatest needs, develop context-specific responses and build partnerships. Development diplomats also contributed to a more effective monitoring of projects. Given their critical role, it is important that all development diplomats deployed to programme countries receive coherent and consistent training. Initially, one development diplomat was posted in each programme country, but in May 2024 the position in Tbilisi, Georgia, was transferred to Kyiv, Ukraine, due to the increase in bilateral ODA since 2022. Given that a significant share of the Slovak Republic’s bilateral ODA is delivered in countries without development diplomats, the Slovak Republic needs to strengthen the capacity of diplomatic staff more broadly to support and oversee development co‑operation activities, drawing on the expertise of experienced development diplomats. This could be done by leveraging external training opportunities, such as those offered by the European Union. For such efforts to succeed, however, it is essential that the management of development co‑operation is recognised as a strategic priority within the MFEA, and that appropriate support is provided to build relevant expertise across its diplomatic network.
Note: This figure includes full-time staff based at headquarters and embassies in countries where CPA was below EUR 200 000 in 2023.
Source: based on OECD (2025[17]), Development Co-operation Profiles 2025, https://www.oecd.org/en/topics/sub-issues/development-co-operation-profiles.html, and OECD (2025[18]), Data Explorer, Country Programmable Aid (CPA v1), http://data-explorer.oecd.org/s/1t9.
Building on strong public support is essential to sustain global education and development co‑operation efforts
Strong public support for development co‑operation and humanitarian assistance puts the MFEA on a solid footing for the successful implementation of the objectives of the medium-term strategy. Public opinion in support of providing development and humanitarian assistance to people in poorer countries is high (up from 61% in 2018 to 71% at the end of 2024), with 81% of Slovaks supporting the provision of humanitarian aid to those affected by war (SAIDC, 2024[19]; SAIDC, 2025[20]). However, public awareness of the “SlovakAid” brand more broadly is not high (11% in 2024), although this has increased since 2018 (SAIDC, 2025[21]). High public support could be more actively leveraged by the government to bolster development co‑operation. To translate public support into greater domestic legitimacy of development co‑operation and broader engagement, SlovakAid could expand its public communication efforts, including through more regular public reporting on results and outreach with youth through education. In addition, focusing on larger programmes with concrete short- and longer-term objectives could make it easier for the Slovak government to highlight the results and impact of the Slovak Republic’s development co‑operation activities in concrete terms.
In the absence of a formal global education strategy and platform, finding ways to generate development awareness across different stakeholders is important. Responsibility for the preparation of the draft global education strategy moved from the MFEA to the Ministry of Education in 2020, where ongoing discussions are taking place. A global education strategy would benefit from a multi-stakeholder forum and a monitorable action plan to track progress. Greater awareness of the objectives of development co‑operation could spread to actors beyond civil society via the information hubs of Eximbanka and the Ministry of Finance as well as through the rosters and registries of private sector actors (see sub-section entitled Partnerships with the private sector). An earlier peer review of global education in the Slovak Republic underscored the importance of an established structure or platform for dialogue on global education to strengthen ownership across society and to support ongoing educational reform and debate in the Slovak Republic – a point reiterated in a recent evaluation of fourteen global development education projects and made all the more important given the spread of disinformation (GENE, 2013[22]; SlovakAid, 2021[23]).
The sharp decline in funding for civil society impedes the Slovak Republic’s efforts to promote development awareness throughout society. SlovakAid data shows that the amount of funding available for civil society, including for global education, declined considerably in 2025 (Table 2), leading non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to seek funding opportunities elsewhere. To date, the Slovak Republic has been reliant on NGOs for global education and the implementation of activities. Through annual calls for proposals related to global education, SAIDC has previously supported CSOs in creating greater awareness of the SDGs and development topics through the Slovak education curriculum at all levels.
Raising awareness of sustainable development across society through global education will benefit the Slovak private sector by making it more competitive. In view of the Slovak Republic’s desire to deepen co‑operation with the private sector in development co‑operation, including through procurement opportunities and EU initiatives (MFEA, 2025[2]), it will be important for graduates to understand responsible business conduct and its positive development impact. A society and labour force that is increasingly aware of development issues will be more willing to adopt responsible business conduct. Communicating about how development co‑operation can help create resilient, stable communities that benefit the Slovak Republic and the European private sector and societies in the longer term is another avenue to explore.
To strengthen coherence, impact and visibility of its development co‑operation, the Slovak Republic should:
agree on its comparative advantage in development co‑operation and humanitarian assistance to establish a clear, shared focus on strategic priorities.
explore how a select number of flagship programmes could serve to align priorities behind a shared, cross-government vision.
strengthen forward-looking, multi-year budget planning to enable more predictable, consistent and programmatic funding.
Reaffirm and operationalise the commitment to allocating 0.33% of GNI to ODA by 2030 through a credible roadmap involving all relevant ministries and stakeholders.
Develop a common humanitarian strategy across the MFEA and Ministry of Interior for a more co‑ordinated and systematic approach to material and financial humanitarian assistance. Consider different modalities to partnering with CSOs to enhance crisis preparedness and faster response capacity.
Continue the efforts of the Ministry of Education to embed global education into ongoing national education curriculum reform, and create mechanisms to promote policy dialogue and co‑operation with civil society and other stakeholders in this area.
Elevating the profile of development co‑operation within government could drive more co‑ordinated and strategic approaches
Raising the institutional profile of development co‑operation in the Slovak Republic could strengthen co‑ordination, visibility and alignment with strategic priorities. The Department for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid forms part of the Directorate for Economic and Development Cooperation, which also covers multilateral economic co‑operation, bilateral trade co‑operation, economic diplomacy and the business centre. Nine Director-Generals report to two State Secretaries and a Secretary-General who sit just under the Minister (see Annex D). Some countries, such as Slovenia, have a dedicated Directorate for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid, while others like Hungary have a dedicated State Secretary for development co‑operation and humanitarian assistance (OECD, 2023[24]). Raising the profile of development co‑operation and humanitarian assistance within the MFEA would require political and institutional leadership to forge synergies across government programmes and projects, including by aligning embassy and partner needs with the priorities outlined in the medium-term strategy. In planning over multiple years and working upstream to meet the different priorities, Coordination Committee members could work to present larger, more programme-based approaches that draw on stakeholder expertise and added value (see section entitled Engaging strategically with partners).
While the Coordination Committee plays an important convening role, development co‑operation activities remain fragmented across government. Recent agenda topics covered by the Coordination Committee suggest that the Committee plays an important role in convening the different government ministries and agencies, as well as trade unions, towns and municipalities, chambers of commerce and civil society organisations involved in SlovakAid (MFEA, 2020[25]).5 Each ministry or entity has its own ODA budget and brings its annual ODA plans to the MFEA for consolidation and presentation to the government for approval. Currently, individual activities are planned in isolation. For example, within their respective mandates, each entity develops their own knowledge-sharing activities, grants and financial contributions, concessional credits, co-financing with EU delegated co‑operation, EU Twinning and scholarships. There is some level of co‑operation for instruments such as concessional export credits or scholarships, but consultation across government is not systematic.
Effective collaboration between the Ministry of Finance and the MFEA demonstrates the potential of cross-government partnerships to enhance the reach and impact of development co‑operation. The Ministry of Finance works closely with international financial institutions (IFIs) and the European Union to gather and share information and build greater awareness of opportunities for Slovak businesses. Its export credit agency, Eximbanka, together with SAIDC, can implement financial instruments on behalf of the European Union (see section entitled Engaging strategically with partners). The collaboration between the MFEA and the Ministry of Finance is successful thanks to the iterative working relationships across the two ministries, which can serve as an example for cross-government co‑operation in other focus areas such as education, environment and energy (Box 1).
Together with regional offices of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Ministry of Finance supports preparatory phases of development projects in the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership, matching demand to the expertise of Slovak entrepreneurs. A key long-term objective of this collaboration is to strengthen effective and transparent public finance management in partner countries, in line with EU regulations. Although not explicitly linked, this supports the Slovak Republic’s efforts through Twinning and Sharing Slovak Expertise managed by the MFEA and SAIDC respectively.
The Ministry of Finance provides earmarked funds to UNDP country offices to manage capacity development efforts in ministries of finance, relevant line ministries, tax and customs administrations, regional authorities, and local governments based on clearly identified needs in partner countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Montenegro, Republic of North Macedonia, Serbia and Uzbekistan). The programme was found to respond well to the needs of partners, while piloting practical problem-solving has led to small financial investments having a disproportionate catalytic effect.
Another objective of the collaboration with UNDP is to leverage private finance, knowledge, expertise and technologies to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The UNDP’s Public and Private Finance for Development (PPFD) programme supports preparatory phases of development projects, matching demand to expertise of Slovak entrepreneurs. The support primarily focuses on energy efficiency, waste management, smart cities and green solutions.
The mid-term evaluation of the PPFD found positive outcomes in terms of domestic resource mobilisation in at least one country and found the programme to be well integrated with other UNDP work focused on longer-term outcomes. Several partnerships led by the Ministry of Finance offer opportunities to better link the MFEA and SAIDC’s project-based approach and would likely benefit from stronger cross-government co‑operation, for example:
support for the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) partnership programme which provides a framework and methodology for assessing public financial management performance.
support to the Centre of Excellence in Finance to develop efficient and resilient tax institutions and enhance the capacities of accountants and auditors in Southeast Europe.
support for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (EBRD) Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership (E5P) fund.
support to the Slovak Inclusive Growth Account (SIGA), a bilateral fund established by the Slovak Republic in 2016 in partnership with the Council of Europe Development Bank.
Sources: Ackermann (2023[26]), Public and Private Finance for Development: Mid-Term Evaluation, https://erc.undp.org/evaluation/documents/detail/22510; MFEA (2025[8]), DAC Peer Review Self-assessment of the Slovak Republic, DCD/DAC/AR(2025)1/29.
Despite having structures in place, development and transboundary issues are not fully considered as part of policy coherence for sustainable development
The Slovak Republic’s institutional mechanisms could be used more effectively to strengthen policy coherence for sustainable development. In January 2025, three existing councils (for the 2030 Agenda, EU Green Deal and the Recovery and Resilience Plan) were merged to form a unified Government Council for Sustainable Development and Financing, with the objective of ensuring coherence across policies and various sources of funding for sustainable development. The new Council is chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister, while the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs is one of four Deputy Chairs of the Council. The previous Government Council for the 2030 Agenda (created in 2017) was chaired by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, who was also responsible for the domestic implementation of the SDGs, while the MFEA, as vice-chair, was responsible at an international level (MFEA, 2025[8]). The medium-term strategy indicates that different line ministries have the competence to prevent negative spillover effects, while the Coordination Committee’s statute includes a mandate to look at possible inconsistencies between sector policies and the objectives of development co‑operation (MFEA, 2020[25]).6 As such, the Committee is the appropriate forum to discuss issues related to policy coherence for sustainable development, including to inform its positions at EU level. As the Slovak Republic develops a framework to assess the cross-border impacts of its domestic and EU policies, it could build on the MFEA’s Coordination Committee and its broad stakeholder base to identify priority areas for analysis and discussion (see Annex B).
EU investments encourage policy coherence for sustainable development, while migration from Ukraine tested the transboundary spillover effects of domestic policies. The Ministry of Investment, Regional Development and Informatisation of the Slovak Republic was responsible for the use of European Funds to implement a uniform state policy (until March 2024, when this task was transferred to the Office of Deputy Prime Minister). As a net recipient of EU funding, including European Regional Development and Cohesion Funds, many of the Slovak Republic’s investments and policies – such as those supporting green and digital transition, natural resource management and biodiversity – encourage at least a minimum consideration of transboundary sustainability impacts to reduce negative spillovers on partner countries.7 The 2023 Voluntary National Review (VNR) on the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda in the Slovak Republic highlighted the positive impact on public finances resulting from the employment of Ukrainians under the temporary protection of the Slovak Republic. By the end of 2022, the revenue had nearly surpassed the initial fiscal cost. The VNR also suggested ways that domestic policies might improve inefficiencies8 (MIRDI, 2023[27]).
SAIDC has evolved into a more professional agency but may require greater autonomy to optimise its effectiveness
SAIDC’s strengthened operational foundations demonstrate its readiness to broaden its mandate and enhance cross-government development co‑operation. SAIDC was recognised for its quality management through the ISO 9001 certification it received in 2019. It has also enhanced its visibility and credibility among partners as indicated by its successful EU Pillar Assessment, most recently in procurement.9 SAIDC currently serves exclusively as the implementing arm for the MFEA, with no mandate to implement on behalf of other government entities. With the support of the Ministry of Finance, the Slovak Republic could embark on more forward programming in line with the new multi-year budgeting requirements, building on its longer-term strategic partnerships in Kenya and Moldova. In doing so, it could position itself to implement grants and financial instruments on behalf of other ministries involved in SlovakAid, in an effort for greater cross-government coherence and in line with its previous medium-term strategy (see section entitled Aligning policy objectives and resources).
SAIDC’s evolving roles and responsibilities may necessitate greater autonomy. According to its mandate, SAIDC is responsible for preparing calls for grant applications, documents for the grant assessment committee, preparing and concluding contracts, monitoring progress and managing data. In the organisational regulations of the MFEA, SAIDC is designated as a separate organisational unit (MFEA, 2020[28]). The Director of SAIDC can authorise financial contributions to legal persons (e.g. NGOs) and local governments in partner countries, but these are subject to approval by the MFEA, which often requires additional time (Government of the Slovak Republic, 2021[29]). If SAIDC were to shift from its current centralised model – focused on managing relatively small grants – towards a more programme-based approach, it would require greater autonomy. Increased operational (and political) independence could enable SAIDC to work more directly with NGOs through multi-year strategic partnerships or to more easily establish a presence in partner countries.
A more autonomous agency could help build lasting expertise and raise the profile of development co‑operation. As an example, the Czech Development Agency is looking at how to overcome financial and legislative barriers to greater financial delegation and human-resource presence in partner countries (OECD, 2023[30]). SAIDC faces similar challenges that it is working to remedy. For example, project-monitoring visits are typically undertaken from Bratislava and embassies do not necessarily have the capacity or financial resources available to monitor SAIDC projects as part of their core business. Portugal’s creation of Portuguese Cooperation Centres (PCPs), as administratively independent entities overseen by their respective embassies, was a way to move away from highly centralised decision making and increase its presence in partner countries. The centres have been able to hire staff locally and increase their capacity to support and advise the Portuguese co‑operation system (OECD, 2022[31]). This is a model that the Slovak Republic could consider as it explores ways to overcome the challenges of posting a SAIDC official to a partner country. As SAIDC becomes more autonomous, it will be important to find ways to systematically allow learning from the agency to feed into MFEA decision making.
EU delegated co‑operation provides an opportunity to expand the Slovak Republic’s expertise and strengthen SAIDC’s management systems
The Slovak Republic sees EU delegated co‑operation as key to a viable future for SAIDC. SAIDC has worked to implement four EU delegated co‑operation programmes in Moldova (2021‑24), Serbia, Kenya, the Republic of South Africa and most recently Georgia (Box 2). EU delegated co‑operation offers SAIDC the opportunity to extend its geographic reach, gain expertise by partnering with other EU agencies, and learn how to adapt and professionalise internal management systems. It is also a critical means through which SAIDC expects to increase its human resources and expand its network in partner countries (see section entitled Aligning policy objectives and resources). Three staff currently manage EU delegated co‑operation, although from an organisational point of view they are not concentrated within a dedicated unit of the SAIDC organisational structure. Although a dedicated structure could allow for more targeted outreach, communication, and discrete operational, monitoring and evaluation support, it might also accentuate silos in what today is a relatively small agency of 14 permanent and 4 temporary staff. Instead, a broader reflection and approach to identifying funding opportunities, building and maintaining partnerships, and expanding SAIDC’s footprint could be the driving force in shaping SAIDC’s future.
To successfully position itself as a strong partner for EU delegated co‑operation opportunities, the agency will need to continue to engage and adapt. It is taking a conscious, step-by-step approach to learning from lead and co-lead partners such as GIZ, Enabel and Expertise France. For example, SAIDC was eager to learn how other procurement units conducted technical and financial assessments, performed due diligence and carried out risk assessments of potential partners. Its agility also makes it possible to change gears easily and its relatively small size compared to other partners has allowed it to focus more on adaptability as it is less driven than other Team Europe members by the need to execute large budgets. It engages proactively in the Practitioners’ Network for European Development Cooperation to help build a pipeline of projects. Building on the recent successful completion of its full EU Pillar Assessment – including the procurement pillar – SAIDC is well placed to deepen its role in delegated co-operation.
SAIDC can learn from other EU Member States who leverage EU delegated co‑operation for greater impact. Many agencies position themselves to implement funding on behalf of the European Union in sectors and countries where they are already active bilaterally, or where they intend to scale-up or reinforce their bilateral portfolio. This approach can be particularly useful if the volume of bilateral ODA is relatively small, but the member state wants to build on and maintain its expertise, partnerships and networks. The Slovak Republic does not explicitly anchor delegated co‑operation to bilateral programming, which is understandable given that the main bilateral modality is partner applications for grants which do not fit within a longer-term strategy that allows for identifying potential synergies (see Aligning policy objectives and resources). The risk for the Slovak Republic, which as yet does not have a large bilateral programme, is that it can be difficult to reconcile the need to focus on fewer sectors, countries or regions to maximise impact, with the desire for a broader global presence to enhance visibility and competitiveness to manage EU funds within consortia. Acknowledging this tension, it may be helpful to prioritise EU co-financing opportunities in thematic areas that align with the Slovak Republic’s existing bilateral strengths, thus leveraging comparative advantages while maintaining strategic focus.
The Slovak Agency for International Development Cooperation (SAIDC) had as its goal to implement EU funding to expand its resource base, gain expertise and broaden the scope of its operations to achieve greater economies of scale and sustainability. As part of this process, in 2020 it successfully passed the EU Pillar Assessment and confirmed its place as a trusted EU partner, adding Pillar 5 on procurement more recently in 2025. It has since worked to implement four EU delegated co‑operation programmes, three of which are outlined here.
From 2017-21, SAIDC was the grant manager and main co‑ordinator of the joint project of the Visegrad Four (V4) countries, “Enhancement of Livelihoods in the Kenyan Coastal Region by Supporting Organic and Fair trade Certification of Smallholders”, funded by the European Union Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa (EUTF for Africa). Then, from 2022-24, SAIDC took on its first EU delegated co‑operation project where it was the main implementing body for funds from the European Neighbourhood Instrument to support local media in Moldova. In the third example, taking place from 2023-26, SAIDC is partnering with Expertise France, GIZ, Enabel and SNV Netherlands Development Organisation to implement the Team Europe initiative focused on supporting entrepreneurial ecosystem development in Kenya and South Africa.
As a result of its experience, the Slovak Republic was selected to join two relatively new consortia for the management and implementation of EU funds from 2024-27 in Serbia and Georgia – two countries it knows well from pre-EU accession support and identified in the medium-term strategy as “programme” countries.
SAIDC, along with Spain (FIIAPP) and Italy (AISC), is also involved in providing pre-accession assistance to Serbia through integration into the EU internal market, principally in the areas of e-commerce and consumer protection. Assistance to Georgia, implemented jointly with Spain (FIIAPP) targets improving air quality instruments and vehicle emission standards but is currently suspended until Georgia returns to the path of EU accession.
The Slovak Republic can draw several lessons from its experience with EU delegated co‑operation, including:
Prioritising countries and sectors in which the EU Member State already has a presence and experience. Moldova is a programme country for the Slovak Republic, where it has longstanding experience in sharing expertise. Kenya is also a programme country where the Slovak Republic has been present since 2003, but where other EU Member States have a longer experience. In these cases, the Slovak Republic was a junior member of the consortia.
Explicitly aligning EU delegated co‑operation programming and Country Strategy Papers or thematic priorities for greater impact. Co-financing with EU delegated co‑operation should reinforce or complement bilateral programmes. Through the joint project of the Visegrád Four (V4) countries, the Slovak Republic has forged new partnerships in the coastal region of Kenya, which subsequently allowed it to expand bilateral financial co‑operation to young entrepreneurs in similar areas of economic activity. While SAIDC is co‑financing the project with EUR 200 000 for the operation of the project over four years, there is untapped potential for greater synergies with the Slovak Republic’s bilateral co‑operation in Kenya, for example related to youth entrepreneurship and curriculum development.
Learning by doing requires patience and strong collaboration on the part of all members of the consortium. Adapting has become standard practice at SAIDC. By adopting a proactive and collaborative approach, it has leveraged the expertise of more experienced partners to mature its own processes and systems, promoting greater professionalism over time, particularly in areas such as procurement.
A strong European Union with convening power in partner countries and a proactive approach to information sharing is especially critical for smaller EU Member States. Relying on the EU delegation in partner countries to share information and publicise opportunities is key for countries such as the Slovak Republic, where their embassies in many partner countries are not highly staffed.
Note: For more information on the V4 programme see: Nnahiwe, P., J. Hejkrlík and M. Bavorová (2023[32]), Adopting modern agricultural technologies and impact on economic performance: evidence from cashew farmers in Kenya, https://doi.org/10.22434/ifamr2021.0100.
The Slovak Republic is developing a framework to manage for development results and to communicate the impact of SlovakAid’s activities
Recent findings from an OECD review highlight the need to instil a culture of results, monitoring, evaluation and learning. A systematic review of a representative sample of (randomly selected) SlovakAid projects conducted by the OECD points to two major areas of weakness in project design and implementation: projects lack a monitoring and evaluation plan; and many lack risk-management plans or practices. Each project must include one indicator drawn from a list of common indicators10 (OECD, 2023[33]). However, SAIDC and Slovak embassies do not currently have the means or budget to monitor relatively small projects. Better project design guidelines and templates will help address gaps in monitoring, evaluation, planning, risk management, stakeholder engagement and sustainability. In addition to the work undertaken with the OECD, dedicated staff, improved methodologies to develop results frameworks and further training for development and economic diplomats (see section entitled Aligning policy objectives and resources) could help SlovakAid achieve its objectives and address quality assurance gaps. New embassies opening in potential partner countries (Tanzania and Algeria) and an embassy reopening in Ethiopia (a “partner” country in the 2025-30 medium-term strategy) will need to include dedicated resources to effectively monitor SAIDC programmes in their region, while taking on broader roles in trade and private sector engagement.
The lack of alignment between strategic, high-level results and the outcomes achieved by relatively small projects makes it difficult for SlovakAid to present a compelling case on results. The 2025-30 medium-term strategy indicates that the Slovak Republic will strengthen results-based management through the introduction of measurable outcome indicators11 (MFEA, 2025[2]). As the MFEA works to develop a results framework for the new medium-term strategy, simplicity will be key. An approach that strengthens the alignment between strategic, higher-level results and outcomes should be accompanied by a solid understanding of what works and why, rather than being solely indicator-driven. Given the relatively small average size of projects (EUR 90 000 in 2023), a simplified log frame or flagship-level results framework could help bridge desired strategic outcomes with project outputs. Identifying potential synergies across government ODA budgets upstream could allow the Slovak Republic to align projects with overarching policies, programmes and intended outcomes. For example, bundling different modalities (grants and financial contributions, concessional credits, scholarships, micro-grants, capacity development) and channels (bilateral, multilateral, EU delegated co‑operation) would allow the MFEA to communicate high-level results around larger, flagship programmes that involve a broader stakeholder group (see Engaging strategically with partners).
To strengthen accountability and learning, the Slovak Republic could adopt a more strategic and co‑ordinated approach to evaluation across its development co‑operation system. The MFEA aims to apply results-oriented procedures to all bilateral projects exceeding EUR 40 000, with evaluations conducted by external consultants publicly available since 2019 (MFEA, 2025[8]). On average, one independent evaluation is undertaken each year, such as the 2024 evaluation of the 2019-23 medium-term strategy, which has informed the current medium-term strategy. Setting out a clear, three-year rolling plan of project and programme evaluations – including those managed by different government ministries and entities – would help encourage a more strategic approach to monitoring, evaluation and learning. A cross-government evaluation plan for development co‑operation would also encourage greater learning and could facilitate a more programmatic approach to development co‑operation featuring different modalities of support. For example, discussing the results of findings from the upcoming evaluation of scholarship programmes managed by the Ministry of Education, financial contributions or grants in support of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) through the MFEA and SAIDC, along with support for skills training and education via multilateral partners, may prompt a broader reflection on how the Slovak Republic can combine its efforts for greater impact.
To enhance the visibility and accountability of its multilateral aid, the Slovak Republic could strengthen how it communicates the contribution of its EU development co‑operation share to global outcomes. Given the important share of multilateral ODA (78% in 2023), and particularly the important contribution to EU institutions (68% of total ODA) in the Slovak Republic’s portfolio, it is important to identify ways to illustrate how Slovak support contributes to the results and impact of EU development co‑operation. The European Union publishes an annual report outlining its support through financial instruments for international partnerships, humanitarian aid, security and defence, foreign policy and enlargement (European Commission, 2024[34]). As the largest overall recipient of concessional finance for development co‑operation, the Slovak Republic, like other EU member states, can seek greater synergies between EU and bilateral programming. In doing so, it could more systematically link these European results to its own contributions both thematically and geographically. For example, EU investments of EUR 670 million for humanitarian aid in the form of food and nutritional support, made in 2023 to the Regional Teachers Training initiative for Sub-Saharan Africa, or EU investment in key digital infrastructure to provide fast and secure connectivity between the European Union and North Africa, could be framed as part of the Slovak Republic’s broader support to education, humanitarian assistance and digital development, aligning with its development co-operation programmes for these partners.
Explore how the MFEA’s mandate might evolve to assume a leadership role for all development co‑operation across government to align objectives, ensure policy coherence and create synergies across ODA activities.
Ensure the MFEA has the institutional capacity and political backing to deliver on a strengthened mandate, including by introducing measures within the Ministry to support work on international development co‑operation that help attract and sustain sufficient number of staff with the necessary skills.
To fully realise the potential benefits of a standalone agency, SAIDC should:
be granted greater operational autonomy, in particular by working with the MFEA to reform grant procedures to enable faster, high-quality partnerships.
engage in EU delegated co‑operation where projects are well matched to its geographic focus and sectoral strengths, thereby reinforcing bilateral objectives.
continue to learn from other development agencies and across bilateral and EU delegated programming efforts.
Design a simple results framework that aligns project outputs with strategic outcomes, facilitating clearer communication of results and reinforcing evidence-based policymaking through the systematic use of evaluation findings in programming decisions.
Enhancing strategic influence within multilateral organisations could help advance development priorities
The Slovak Republic provides most of its ODA to multilateral organisations, notably the European Union. In 2023, 87% of ODA (USD 153.3 million) was channelled to or through multilateral institutions. Of this, 78% (USD 119.7 million) goes to EU institutions each year, primarily through the development share of the budget, but also via contributions to the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) – Global Europe12, which is integrated into the 2021‑27 multi-annual financial framework of the European Union. The largest contributions, after the European Union, were made to Gavi (for COVID-19 vaccines), international financing institutions (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Finance Corporation and the International Development Association), support for Ukraine through the International Monetary Fund’s Extended Fund Facility and contributions to the United Nations as well as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for targeted activities related to public financial management and innovative public administration (Figure 5). The latter comprises core contributions to the UN Secretariat as well as voluntary contributions to the UNDP.
Current voluntary contributions made to multilateral organisations leave little room to meet the objectives of the medium-term strategy. In line with the 2019 DAC peer review, the new medium-term strategy clarifies criteria for the selection of multilateral partners (see Annex A) and states the intention to use multilaterals to engage in areas where it is not effective for the Slovak Republic to operate on a bilateral basis, such as in least developed countries (MFEA, 2025[2]). To that end, the Slovak Republic regularly participates in replenishments of the International Development Association’s (IDA) resources, which occur every three years, contributing approximately EUR 3 million per cycle, slightly lower than contributions from other small DAC members such as Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia and Lithuania. However, the Slovak Republic currently has a small discretionary budget to influence and advance its strategic goals through multilaterals. About 90% of ODA to multilaterals comprise mandatory membership payments and assessed contributions to organisations such as the World Trade Organization, the Council of Europe, the World Health Organization, UN Peacekeeping and the Food and Agriculture Organization, leaving only 10% earmarked for specific countries, regions, themes or purposes (i.e. USD 15.9 million), well below the DAC total of 43.1%. An assessment of the Slovak Republic’s engagement in multilateral organisations also noted that its voluntary contributions do not reflect its capacity and position as a developed country and member of the European Union and of the OECD (MFEA, 2022[35]). The Slovak Republic could consider increasing its use of multi-bi aid, i.e. channelling part of its bilateral budget through multilateral organisations for earmarked projects and programmes, to advance strategic priorities where SAIDC and CSOs lack expertise or in-country presence. The assessment of the effectiveness of the Slovak Republic’s membership in international organisations, prepared by the MFEA every four years, provides a good framework to monitor results achieved through targeted contributions.
Building on its experience, the Slovak Republic is well positioned to engage more strategically with multilateral partners to advance its development and foreign policy objectives. The collaboration between the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic and the UNDP on public management and alignment to the EU acquis is a good example of how targeted partnerships can deliver tangible outcomes when aligned to the Slovak Republic’s own comparative advantage (see Partnerships with the private sector). The Slovak Republic has also leveraged multilaterals to pursue specific political priorities, such as addressing milk shortages in Cuba in 2024 via the World Food Programme (WFP).13 Strategic engagement with multilateral institutions can significantly enhance the Slovak Republic’s international visibility and policy influence, even within constrained budgets – for example, through the participation of Slovak diplomats and policymakers in selected initiatives or high-level events. While the Slovak Republic has not traditionally pursued framework or partnership agreements with multilateral actors, doing so could open avenues for more structured collaboration, help identify shared priorities and create deeper partnerships (including non-financial ones) with a limited number of multilaterals. This could be particularly relevant as the Slovak Republic moves towards a new focus on green sectors, as partnerships with multilaterals can provide access to technical expertise, project pipelines and co-financing opportunities that could help scale up environmental and climate-related activities in SlovakAid’s portfolio. Strengthening the Slovak Republic’s presence and engagement in EU institutions would further enhance its capacity to shape the strategic orientation of EU development co‑operation.
Source: OECD (2025[11]), OECD Data Explorer, Creditor Reporting System (database), http://data-explorer.oecd.org/s/3c; (OECD, 2025[36]), OECD Data Explorer, Providers’ total use of the multilateral system, http://data-explorer.oecd.org/s/10c.
Bilateral co‑operation could be reinforced by creating greater synergies across projects and partners
The Slovak Republic is recognised as a small but flexible partner, whose learning-by-doing approach helps it gain visibility and experience. SlovakAid uses its participation in EU joint programming as an opportunity to gain visibility and learn from more experienced bilateral providers. It actively participates in nine Team Europe initiatives, two of which are in Kenya. It has also participated in four EU delegated co‑operation projects (Box 2). Providers collaborating with SlovakAid generally praise the Slovak Republic for being a flexible and engaged partner that is eager to learn. Its relatively small size allows SlovakAid to be more agile than larger providers, enabling it to adapt to evolving contexts and connect with the right partners more easily, as it is not constrained by budget administration.
SlovakAid has a strong history of technical assistance delivered through knowledge and experience sharing. In 2019, the Slovak Republic established the Sharing Slovak Expertise (SSE) instrument, building on the legacy of the former Centre for Experience Transfer from Integration and Reforms (CETIR) and the Slovak Republic’s own experience of integration into European structures. Government institutions can provide knowledge and experience either through SSE, managed by SAIDC, or through their own channels. Since 2019, SSE has implemented 36 projects in 14 partner countries, focusing on good governance and strengthening civil society. In addition, the Slovak Republic has actively participated in EU technical assistance programmes, with the medium-term strategy outlining the intention to increase its involvement going forward. Since 2019, the Slovak Republic has been involved in 14 EU Twinning projects, leading eight of them. It has also participated in 35 Technical Assistance and Information Exchange (TAIEX) projects.14 The Ministry of Finance has a long-standing collaboration with the UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub to share expertise on public finance management in neighbouring countries, now complemented by other partnerships, such as with the Centre of Excellence in Finance in Slovenia. However, the fact that expertise-sharing programmes are split across several institutions makes it difficult to co‑ordinate activities and achieve economies of scale.15 Enhancing links across these technical assistance programmes, such as through a common registry of experts or dedicated staff for expertise-sharing engagement, could help identify links and improve efficiency.
Moving towards fewer, but larger and more targeted engagements would help the Slovak Republic achieve greater impact. The Slovak Republic’s main bilateral co‑operation instruments include project grants managed through calls for proposals – the most important bilateral instrument in budgetary terms until 2024 – micro-grants, technical assistance through the SSE programme, government scholarships and financial contributions made by ministerial decision (Figure 6). Through these modalities, it implements many short-term project-type interventions, which are mostly small in volume and, given the broad strategic objectives, cover a wide cross section of sectors. In 2023, SlovakAid implemented 219 project-type development interventions, averaging EUR 90 000 each (Figure 7). The largest projects were donations of COVID-19 vaccines and contributions to specific funds.16 Identifying clear and achievable objectives for each partner country in country-programme strategy documents could support the development of more targeted portfolios, enabling a shift towards a more programmatic approach with fewer, but larger, development projects.
Note: This graphic shows average annual amounts for 2019-24. Financial contributions and micro-grants shown in this graphic refer to the “financial contributions” instrument as defined by the Slovak Act on Development Co‑operation. Additional contributions from other line ministries may also qualify as ODA if reported, but are provided at their discretion and are not captured here. Project grants and microgrants are reported as commitments. Project grant commitments exclude grants for the volunteer programme, which averaged EUR 145 000 annually over 2019‑24. The amount related to “Knowledge and experience sharing” instrument includes the MFEA/SAIDC’s Sharing Slovak Expertise (SSE) activities and does not reflect knowledge-sharing activities of other line ministries.
Source: SAIDC (2025[37]), Annual Reports SAIDC, https://slovakaid.sk/en/annual-reports/annual-reports-saidc/.
The Slovak Republic should capitalise on opportunities to create synergies or improve sequencing across different instruments. Some individual projects have led to follow-up engagement, such as in Iraq, where a project grant for creating wells was followed by a private sector grant for wastewater treatment plants. Similar synergies could be leveraged in Kenya, for example by linking volunteer and technical assistance programmes to support project grants. The Slovak Republic could learn from Poland, which uses bilateral co‑operation projects to identify follow-up Twinning or TAIEX projects, and in turn uses these EU-funded instruments to deepen technical co‑operation and strengthen political contacts with partner countries (OECD, 2023[38]). The Czech Republic has gone further and adopted integrated approaches to reduce portfolio fragmentation and increase impact. It does so by defining budget allocations by country (rather than by institution or instrument) and by engaging Czech representatives in partner countries to link different instruments – such as expertise sharing, challenge funds, scholarships in education or projects in sustainable landscape management – from the planning stage (OECD, 2023[30]).
In addition, strengthening engagement with other partners, in particular EU Member States, would enable the Slovak Republic to increase its impact in priority countries. This requires proactive engagement in EU co‑ordination meetings and other donor co‑ordination mechanisms to enhance visibility and identify areas where SlovakAid has a comparative advantage. The Slovak Republic, as with other small EU Member States, relies on EU delegations in partner countries for timely information on the country context and for opportunities to engage in Team Europe or Global Gateway initiatives. This is particularly important given that the Slovak Republic’s embassies in Africa often cover up to 16 countries. In Ukraine, the vacant position from May 2024 to June 2025 has resulted in limited staff capacity to engage in strategic and political discussions with European partners (such as the Multi-agency Donor Coordination Platform for Ukraine). In Kenya, the Slovak Republic is actively involved in multi-donor platforms such as the Development Effectiveness Group (a co‑ordination platform for donors and the Kenyan government), the Development Partners Group and the Migration and Mobility Working Group, offering opportunities to build strategic partnerships.
Note: In 2023, there were 219 development projects (excluding humanitarian projects) with an average value of USD 92 200 and a median value of USD 7 600. Deciles split the 219 projects into 10 equally large subsections of 22 projects each, represented in descending order of project value.
Source: OECD (2025[11]), OECD Data Explorer, Creditor Reporting System (database), http://data-explorer.oecd.org/s/3c.
Limited channels for direct work with local partners hampers effectiveness and partnership opportunities. Project grants are restricted to the Slovak Republic’s own institutions (CSOs, private sector, etc.) as the government considers that the transaction cost for open calls would be too high given its small bilateral co‑operation budget. However, grant applicants are required to identify a local partner when applying. Most of the interventions in partner countries rely on civil society partnerships, which limits opportunities for direct dialogue with the partner country’s government. Micro-grants and financial contributions through ministerial decision are the main tools used to direct financial resources to partner-country CSOs. Micro-grants are provided yearly by embassies in partner countries through calls for proposals, providing up to EUR 10 000 per project. Stakeholders and partners view micro-grants as a valuable tool for reaching a broad range of beneficiaries and achieving tangible, small-scale results. Until 2023, SlovakAid supported around 80 projects in partner countries per year. However, budget cuts in 2024 limited these grants to 18 projects and the available budget for 2025 has been halved to EUR 380 000 (Table 2). Given their size, micro-grants have limited potential to generate significant development impact. However, the Slovak Republic can enhance their effectiveness as a diplomatic tool to strengthen visibility and outreach (e.g. building partnerships and networks in partner countries) by seeking synergies with interventions by other providers.
Note: * Planned budget for 2025.
Source: SAIDC (2025[37]), Annual Reports SAIDC, https://slovakaid.sk/en/annual-reports/annual-reports-saidc/; MFEA (2025[9]), Annual Bilateral Development Co‑operation Plan 2025, https://slovakaid.sk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Zameranie-ODA-SR-2025.pdf.
The impact of project grants, traditionally awarded to CSOs, could be enhanced through a longer-term focus, funding predictability and less bureaucracy
The Slovak Republic has taken steps to better focus its project grants; however, the shift towards business grants may lead to further fragmentation. Project grants, a central development co‑operation instrument, are awarded by SAIDC through competitive calls for proposals, typically targeting a specific country or theme.17 Between 2019 and 2023, SAIDC launched an average of 13 calls annually, each allocating relatively modest amounts. Efforts to streamline these calls began in 2020, culminating in a reduction of eligible partner countries to three programme countries by 2023. This helped raise the average project size from under EUR 90 000 in 2021 to over EUR 140 000 in 2023. The number of calls declined to nine in 2024 and seven in 2025, as calls for the three programme countries were consolidated under the GREEN programme. Meanwhile, the MFEA is expanding support for business grants, reaching EUR 1.8 million in 2025, a three-fold increase from the previous year (Table 2). Unlike traditional project grants, these have no geographic or thematic limitations, which will likely lead to increased fragmentation in the scope of activities financed through project grants.
To build on the strengths and professionalisation of CSOs in delivering ODA, the Slovak Republic will need to safeguard funding levels and shift towards more predictable, longer-term funding and partnerships. SlovakAid has maintained a strong relationship with civil society, exemplified by the regular engagement of the Slovak Platform for Development Organizations, Ambrela, in the Coordination Committee for Development Cooperation. However, the continued reliance on annual calls for proposals as a partnership modality has constrained the ability of CSOs to undertake strategic planning and invest in their implementation capacity – challenges now compounded by growing uncertainty around future funding availability. The 2024 fiscal consolidation process led to an unanticipated 70% reduction in the project grant budget compared to initial allocations. Although the 2025 budget has increased overall project grant funding, a greater share was directed toward business grants, reducing the resources available to CSOs and academia, which have traditionally been principal recipients (Table 2). This shift has created uncertainty among CSOs as to whether they will gradually be cut out of the Slovak Republic’s development co‑operation model. To ensure the continued contribution of CSOs to development objectives, the Slovak Republic could commit to earmarking a minimum share of project grants for civil society and academia. Providing timely feedback on calls for proposals and final project audits to streamline processes will also be important to maintain trust.
Moving towards partnership modalities outside of annual calls for proposals could also help make effective use of the limited resources available. As mentioned, SAIDC’s annual project grants fund discrete, short-term activities (12 to 24 months) rather than longer-term partnerships focused on development outcomes. A notable shift from this model includes two pilot partnerships adopted in Kenya (2022) and Moldova (2023), each disbursing EUR 1 million over a five-year period to support digitalisation of primary and secondary education, and sustainable agriculture and value creation within the agro-food supply chain.18 To strengthen the case for scaling up such partnerships, the Slovak Republic should invest in systematic monitoring and independent evaluation of these pilot partnerships, then proactively communicate the results and lessons learned. To enhance funding predictability, the Slovak Republic could also consider the use of framework agreements for specific development activities (see sub-section: The Slovak Republic has stepped up its humanitarian assistance, but needs to modernise its processes to enhance reactivity), or core funding to long-standing CSO partners, enabling them to maintain their implementation capacity.
Simplifying decision-making processes could improve the efficiency of grant delivery. Currently, the awarding of project grants based on calls for proposals involves multiple layers of decision making. SAIDC conducts technical assessments of each application against established criteria, in parallel to assessments done by external evaluators hired by the agency along with the relevant embassies. These assessments serve as background materials for the supervisory board within the MFEA, composed of directors from different departments, which also independently assess the project proposals and propose a ranking of projects to the Minister for final approval. Rankings prepared by SAIDC are not binding to the supervisory board or the Minister. The complex governance structure reflects a broader political dynamic: with limited control over overall ODA budgets, project grants are one of the few levers the MFEA retains, leading to close ministerial oversight even on small-scale decisions. However, this tight grip can slow down decision making, introduce the potential for political interference and reduce transparency. In 2024, delays in the approval process led to outdated needs assessments and shifts in local priorities, causing some partners to withdraw from agreements or fail to sign subcontracts. Delegating more decision-making authority to SAIDC’s project and financial managers – within clear strategic parameters set by the MFEA – could improve the efficiency of the grant-approval process and allow the MFEA to concentrate on oversight and ensuring policy coherence, rather than detailed grant approvals.
Reducing the administrative burden and further digitalising procedures could further enhance efficiency while freeing up resources within SAIDC for more strategic tasks. While SAIDC has invested considerable effort in supporting applicants throughout the call-for-proposals process (e.g. through guidance materials, workshops and one-on-one assistance) this demands substantial resources from the agency itself. The 2023 shift to electronic submissions is a welcome step, and further digitalisation could build on this momentum. Introducing simplified application processes for small-scale projects could also be an option to ease the burden on SAIDC and allow it to reallocate capacity to more strategic tasks. Reducing the complexity and length of the project-application and approval process, along with increasing the predictability of CSO funding could be important steps to reverse a downward trend in applications (Figure 8).
Source: SAIDC (2025[37]), Annual reports SAIDC, https://slovakaid.sk/en/annual-reports/annual-reports-saidc/.
Partnerships with the private sector
The Slovak Republic has articulated a clear ambition to associate the private sector with its development co‑operation efforts. Creating opportunities for Slovak businesses to engage in development activities has been a longstanding objective of the Ministry of Finance and it has increasingly become a strategic focus of the MFEA. In 2021, the Department for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid was transferred from the Directorate-General for International Organisations and Human Rights to the Directorate-General for Economic and Development Cooperation, underscoring the government’s intent to align development co‑operation more closely with economic diplomacy. The 2025‑30 medium-term strategy reinforces this direction, aiming to deepen collaboration with the business sector not only in the implementation of development projects in partner countries, but also in shaping broader strategic and policy discussions, such as through participation in the Coordination Committee for Development Cooperation of the Slovak Republic. The main tools for engaging the private sector include co-financing of projects through the business grant scheme, financing of feasibility studies, activities to connect Slovak businesses with international tenders, and, going forward, concessional loans.
The business grant scheme offers an important entry point for engaging Slovak enterprises in development co‑operation, but businesses’ appetite has been modest. Since 2019, the Private Sector Engagement Programme has offered grants to Slovak micro-entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through annual calls for proposals – either for preparatory activities such as feasibility studies and development of a business plan (up to EUR 15 000), or for project implementation (up to EUR 300 000). To maximise participation, the programme does not impose any geographical or sectoral limits, resulting in a highly diverse project portfolio, with some projects only loosely connected to the priorities set out in the Slovak Republic’s medium-term strategy.19 Despite steady interest, with 10-20 applications annually between 2019 and 2023, only around 75% of available resources were utilised. Feedback from grant beneficiaries point to low awareness among Slovak SMEs about the programme and unfamiliarity with development-related standards and reporting requirements as key barriers to broader participation. Some firms also struggled to identify local partners (a requirement for grant eligibility) and the programme’s wide scope makes it difficult for SAIDC and embassies to help interested companies identify suitable counterparts.
A timely evaluation would help identify barriers to uptake and strengthen the design of the business grant scheme as it expands. With the programme now in operation for several years and its budget set to triple to EUR 1.8 million in 2025, an evaluation could assess both barriers to uptake and the programme’s current contribution to development impact, additionality and sustainability which are among the selection criteria20. However there appears to be limited oversight by SlovakAid to ensure that private sector partners implement projects in ways that meaningfully and sustainably contribute to poverty reduction. Clear expectations and definitions of development impact and the development of monitoring mechanisms – including for outcomes beyond project implementation – will be important to assess the programme’s long-term effectiveness and guide future improvements. Meanwhile, the Slovak Republic could test whether refinements to the programme design, such as simplified procedures, the introduction of regional or thematic priorities, and linkages to other private sector instruments (e.g. the concessional loans scheme) could enhance its relevance and accessibility for businesses. The dedicated call for proposals focused on business-partnership projects in Ukraine in 2023 may offer valuable lessons on whether a more targeted approach could improve outreach, support to businesses and the creation of partnerships.
Experience from other DAC members can provide valuable insights on enhancing the additionality, sustainability and development impact of business grant schemes, but this would require dedicated resources for support and oversight. For example, assessments of Iceland’s and Finland’s business grant schemes emphasised the importance of establishing clear criteria, guidance and formal requirements for companies to demonstrate how their projects will achieve development outcomes beyond their commercial objectives (Årling et al., 2022[39]; MFA Finland, 2021[40]). Slovenia has tested partnerships between businesses and CSOs through its calls for proposal grants, although this came with non-negligible transaction costs for involved stakeholders (OECD, 2024[16]). Requiring information on the prospects for future financing and operations in project applications can help enhance the potential of a project’s sustainability. The provision of technical support to introduce and connect companies to other national and international development financing mechanisms could also help ensure follow-up financing and the viability of the project. (Deloitte Advisory, 2019[41]). However, such measures would require strengthening the human-resource capacity of MFEA or SAIDC. The potential investment needs to be carefully weighed against the opportunity costs for a small administration such as that of the Slovak Republic, particularly given the limited evidence on the contribution of business grants to sustainable development impact in other DAC contexts and the currently limited appetite of Slovak SMEs to engage in development projects.
The Ministry of Finance has long-standing programmes to connect businesses to investment opportunities in emerging markets, but these too have met limited demand from SMEs. In the Western Balkans, the Ministry of Finance collaborates with UNDP through the Private Finance for Development Project, to support feasibility studies for larger investment projects in sectors where Slovak companies can be competitive in international tenders (Box 1). This builds on a long-standing collaboration between the Ministry of Finance and the UNDP aimed at enhancing Slovak companies’ participation in international tenders. The Ministry of Finance also collaborates directly with IFIs, for instance through support to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (EBRD) Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership (E5P) fund, or the Slovak Inclusive Growth Account (SIGA), a bilateral fund established by the Slovak Republic in 2016 in partnership with the Council of Europe Development Bank. However, Slovak SMEs have shown little interest in these instruments to date. Further focusing these programmes and engagement efforts on Slovak companies’ strengths, i.e. better matching the scale, sectors and risk profiles in which Slovak companies operate, could be one way to enhance business appetite for investing in developing countries.
Eximbanka is pursuing a pragmatic approach of connecting SMEs with larger firms to gain experience and exposure. Since 2019, Eximbanka has held the role of Private Sector Liaison Officer (PSLO) under the World Bank network and thereafter has taken a more proactive role in raising awareness about development-related investment opportunities among Slovak businesses. It does this through established export promotion and economic diplomacy platforms such as the Trade Development Agency (SARIO). Plans to systematically inform Slovak businesses about open and upcoming tender opportunities in their field of interest are a welcome step to enhancing awareness.21 Eximbanka encourages Slovak companies – most of which are SMEs – to work with large engineering, procurement and construction firms. This pragmatic approach allows SMEs to gain exposure, understand and apply environmental and social safeguards, and better position themselves for future participation in international public tenders. These efforts to promote responsible business conduct need to go hand in hand with greater public awareness of global development (see section entitled Aligning policy objectives and resources) and policy coherence for sustainable development (see section entitled Institutional arrangements and management systems).
Eximbanka’s engagement in the Ukraine Investment Facility offers a valuable pilot for scaling-up financial instruments in SlovakAid’s portfolio. Following a successful EU Pillar Assessment for financial instruments, Eximbanka can receive a guarantee from the European Union for direct financing via the Ukraine Investment Facility.22 Under this facility, the Slovak Republic has secured EUR 100 million for energy-infrastructure investments in Ukraine. This comprises EUR 70 million in EU guarantees covering 90% of Eximbanka’s loans (up to EUR 77 million), and EUR 23 million in non-repayable investment and technical assistance grants channelled through SAIDC (Eximbanka, 2025[42]). The first tenders are expected in early 2026. This facility will help Eximbanka gain hands-on experience in structuring and implementing concessional loans and strengthening work relationships with SAIDC. So far, Eximbanka has struggled to attract private sector participation in the Slovak Republic’s stand‑alone concessional loan instrument, which was established in 2015. Although technically operational and backed by an annual budget allocation of EUR 3 million, the instrument has not yet been used in practice. A dedicated working group on concessional loans, under the Coordination Committee for Development Cooperation, meets on an ad‑hoc basis to prepare the launch of initial pilot projects. While eligibility and selection criteria for concessional export credits are already in place – including an assessment of the project’s development relevance – it will be important to ensure that these criteria are rigorously applied in the appraisal of the first pilot loans. Doing so will help maintain focus on development outcomes over commercial interests. In parallel, continued efforts should be made to untie Slovak ODA to the greatest extent possible, in line with international commitments and good practice (see Annex B).
Eximbanka and the Ministry of Finance plan to deepen their engagement in European financial instruments, such as the NDICI – Global Europe and the Global Gateway. To strengthen the Slovak Republic’s ability to leverage EU mechanisms, it will be important to establish a coherent system of support for Slovak development actors that enables agile and informed participation in these initiatives. This includes building institutional capacity to track and respond to emerging opportunities, both through proactive engagement with EU institutions and by maintaining close dialogue with partner countries to stay abreast of investment pipelines and funding opportunities. Eximbanka could also consider joining relevant networks such as the Association of European Development Finance Institutions (EDFI) to stay informed and closely involved in joint investment opportunities that help mobilise funds for larger-scale projects.
As recommended in the 2019 DAC peer review, an overarching strategy could help improve understanding among stakeholders on the role of the private sector in development, promoting a shared approach across ministries and instruments. Such a strategy could clearly lay out the benefits for private sector involvement in development co‑operation, expected long-term development impacts, and the value different instruments can bring. Switzerland, for example, has developed a General Guidance on the Private Sector with a handbook that clarifies the rationale and modalities of co‑operation with the private sector (OECD, 2025[43]). Similarly, the Netherlands (MFA Netherlands, 2022[44]) and Belgium (BIO, 2025[45]) have defined a “theory of change” that outlines the challenges for private sector development and the changes that can lead to the desired impacts and outcomes. The Slovak Republic will also need to formalise and communicate criteria outlining the additionality and development impact for its financial instruments to help to differentiate such activities from export promotion.
Enhance the predictability and sustainability of funding to CSO partners to capitalise on their operational capacity and deep knowledge of Slovak development co‑operation.
Strengthen the co‑ordination and effectiveness of private sector engagement in development co‑operation:
establish regular co‑ordination mechanisms among relevant institutions to promote learning, synergies across different instruments (e.g. guarantees, concessional credits, technical co-operation, grants) and ensure long-term development impact
evaluate and adapt the business grant scheme to improve uptake and enhance sustainable development outcomes.
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[15] OECD (2023), OECD Development Co-operation Peer Reviews: Iceland 2023, OECD Development Co-operation Peer Reviews, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/a1552817-en.
[38] OECD (2023), OECD Development Co-operation Peer Reviews: Poland 2023, OECD Development Co-operation Peer Reviews, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/deae8fba-en.
[33] OECD (2023), “Slovak Republic: Assessment, Options and Suggestions for a Strengthened Focus on Outcomes in Development Co-operation (unpublished)”.
[31] OECD (2022), OECD Development Co-operation Peer Reviews: Portugal 2022, OECD Development Co-operation Peer Reviews, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/550fb40e-en.
[1] OECD (2019), OECD Development Co-operation Peer Reviews: Slovak Republic 2019, OECD Development Co-operation Peer Reviews, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264312326-en.
[21] SAIDC (2025), Annual Report 2024, Southern African Development Community, https://slovakaid.sk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Vyrocna-sprava_EN_2024_web.pdf.
[37] SAIDC (2025), Annual Reports SAIDC, Southern African Development Community, https://slovakaid.sk/en/annual-reports/annual-reports-saidc/.
[20] SAIDC (2025), “SlovakAid Brand Awareness Survey”, unpublished, Southern African Development Community.
[19] SAIDC (2024), “Annual Report 2023”, Slovak Agency for International Development Cooperation, Southern African Development Community, https://slovakaid.sk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Vyrocna-sprava-2023_ENG_web.pdf.
[23] SlovakAid (2021), “Excerpts from the Final Evaluation Report: SlovakAid projects in the field of global development education approved in 2016 – 2018 and implemented within the framework of the official development cooperation in Slovakia”, https://slovakaid.sk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/GENE_-Final-Report_AJ.pdf.
← 1. While bilateral ODA decreased, total ODA increased by 4% between 2023 and 2024 thanks to an increase in multilateral ODA.
← 2. As of June 2025, one position at SAIDC was vacant.
← 3. Developing robust public financial management and procurement processes and systems for EU delegated co‑operation will require SAIDC to acquire new in-house skills to be more confident in its application of due diligence standards and internal controls. For example, SAIDC currently relies on external experts for legal advice for the preparation of terms of references for services procured in the context of EU delegated co‑operation.
← 4. Development diplomats are formally deployed by the MFEA, with SAIDC staff members taking unpaid leave to serve in this capacity and holding employment contracts directly with the Ministry.
← 5. Recent agenda topics include a discussion of the evaluation of the previous medium-term strategy, Global Gateway opportunities, the overall ODA budget, thematic and geographic priorities of the draft 2025-30 medium-term strategy, and the role of civil society and business partners.
← 6. The 2019 Peer Review indicated that in 2014, a working group on policy coherence for sustainable development (PCSD) operating under the Coordination Committee had raised potential areas of incoherence in national or EU competence – including trade, export of weapons to conflict areas, agriculture subsidies and climate change: https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/oecd-development-co-operation-peer-reviews-slovak-republic-2019_9789264312326-en.html.
← 7. According to EU data on spending and revenue 2021-27, the Slovak Republic received EUR 2.3 billion net in 2022 and EUR 2.6 billion in 2023, principally via the European Regional Development Fund (ERDB), the Cohesion Fund, the European Social Fund and the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund. Detailed information available here: https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/eu-budget/long-term-eu-budget/2021-2027/spending-and-revenue_en.
← 8. See also website on progress and challenges in the integration of displaced persons from Ukraine and a recent research project by the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAV), conducted in co‑operation with the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. https://migrant-integration.ec.europa.eu/news/slovakia-progress-and-challenges-integration-people-displaced-ukraine_en.
← 9. Managing EU funds requires entities to guarantee a certain level of protection of the EU’s financial interest, specifically regarding the following nine “pillars”: (1) the internal control system; (2) the accounting system; (3) an independent external audit; as well as rules and procedures for: (4) providing financing from EU funds through grants; (5) procurement; (6) financial instruments; (7) exclusion from access to funding; (8) publication of information on recipients; and (9) protection of personal data. The terms of reference for the pillar assessment methodology can be found here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32019D0606(01).
← 10. SAIDC currently provides a list of eligible activities and corresponding indicators for grant applicants. These indicators become mandatory components of project design and reporting. Common tools developed by other development partners such as the European Union’s Results and Indicators for Development can help harmonise indicators across development partners. For more information see here: https://capacity4dev.europa.eu/resources/results-indicators_en.
← 11. “The Slovak Republic will also strengthen results-based management through the introduction of measurable output and result indicators, as well as a system for their evaluation and monitoring, which will enable the quantification of the common results of the Slovak Republic's development co‑operation in different territorial and sectoral areas.” The previous medium-term strategy for 2019‑23 did not include a system to track progress in achieving its objectives.
← 12. The Global Europe: Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) aims to support countries most in need to overcome long-term developmental challenges with an overall allocation of EUR 79.5 billion. For more information, see: https://enlargement.ec.europa.eu/funding-technical-assistance/neighbourhood-development-and-international-cooperation-instrument-global-europe-ndici-global-europe_en. Global Gateway was launched by the European Commission in 2021, as the European strategy to boost smart, clean and secure connections in digital, energy and transport sectors, and to strengthen health, education and research systems across the world. Global Gateway aims to mobilise up to EUR 300 billion in investments through a “Team Europe approach.” For more information, see: https://international-partnerships.ec.europa.eu/policies/global-gateway_en.
← 13. In November 2024, the Slovak Republic provided EUR 200 000 in humanitarian aid to Cuba through the World Food Programme (WFP) for the procurement of powdered milk. This contribution responded to a request from the Cuban government earlier in the year, following a worsening in access to basic food supplies. For more information see here: https://www.mzv.sk/en/web/havana/pressreleasedetail?p_p_id=sk_mzv_portal_pressrelease_detail_portlet_PressReleaseDetailPortlet&p_p_lifecycle=0&groupId=10182&articleId=51602845.
← 14. The Slovak Republic engaged in TAIEX projects in areas such as customs and border management, environmental protection and climate change mitigation, certification in different industries, public procurement and personal data protection. For more information, see https://enlargement.ec.europa.eu/document/download/9da2f60a-8938-45d5-9101-e9da379b3bd2_en?filename=TAIEX-Twinning-AAR-2023_EN.pdf and the https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/TMSWebRestrict/resources/js/app/#/library/list.
← 15. For example, SAIDC manages expertise sharing activities through SSE, while the MFEA’s Department for Multilateral and Economic Co‑operation manages Twinning and TAIEX engagements. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, which co‑ordinates the Slovak Republic’s engagement in Ukraine, is updating the expert list for Twinning and TAIEX projects specifically for Ukraine. The Ministry of Finance engages with UNDP for expertise sharing in the field of public financial management.
← 16. Including the Slovak Transformation Fund (a co‑operation between the Ministry of Finance and the UNDP), the International Visegrad Fund and the Energy Community Secretariat.
← 17. Including development grants for partner countries (with separate calls for civil society and business partners), humanitarian grants for Ukraine and the Middle East, global education, volunteer programmes, and capacity building for Slovak development organisations.
← 18. In Kenya, the partnership supports the digitalisation of primary and secondary education in Machakos County, through the establishment of a boarding school for 1 200 students and training of 6 500 teachers on the Kenyan national school reform and digital teaching. The objective of the project is to reduce the level of youth unemployment by improving access to quality education and the acquisition of practical skills. In Moldova, the project promotes sustainable agriculture and value creation within the agro-food supply chain through the establishment of six regional distribution networks. This objective is to increase production and sales of local agricultural products and raise farmers’ awareness of and compliance with food safety and hygiene standards, which may lead to certification of products for export to EU countries.
← 19. In 2022, for example, the five grants approved by SAIDC were fragmented across five countries and five sectors: a project in healthcare in Moldova, geothermal energy in Brazil, e-mobility in Kenya, plastics recycling in Nigeria and environmentally safe landfilling in Serbia.
← 20. SAIDC’s Manual for Business Partnerships Programme 2025 specifies that supported projects need to meet the additionality criteria (i.e. they should support activities that would not occur without SAIDC funding, or at a significantly smaller scale). Projects are also required to respond to partner country needs by contributing to the local social or business environment, facilitating technology transfer, or demonstrating potential for long-term financial sustainability.
← 21. Eximbanka announced the launch of such a service during an event on getting businesses in development co‑operation organised by the Slovak Agency for Investment and Trade Development (SARIO), the MFEA and SAIDC in April 2025. See https://eximbanka.sk/en/eximbanka-will-soon-launch-a-service-for-exporters-it-will-inform-them-about-tenders-abroad/.
← 22. The Ukraine Investment Facility will provide up to EUR 500 billion from 2024‑27 to support investment in resilience and reconstruction in Ukraine. Under this framework, the Slovak Republic may receive up to EUR 100 million from the European Union, including EUR 23 million in grants and EUR 70 million to support loans issued by Eximbanka for the reconstruction of energy facilities.