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'Open Aid, Open Societies' - DFID launches new transparency agenda

20 February, 2018
Posted by: William Barns-Graham
Trade News

This article was published before we became the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade on 10 July 2024, and this is reflected in references to our old brand and name. For more information about us becoming Chartered, visit our dedicated webpage on the change here.

open aid open societies

The Department for International Development (DFID) last week set out a new ‘Transparency Agenda’ to strengthen the UK’s ambition to create a more transparent, fair and equitable world. On the government website, the department stated that:

“DFID has been, and will continue to be a global leader in promoting transparency across our developing country and international programmes to deliver greater accountability, drive economic growth and improve the lives of poor people.”

'Open Aid, Open Societies'

The new agenda was accompanied with the publication ‘Open Aid, Open Societies’ that was launched by Minister of State Harriett Baldwin on Tuesday 6th February at the Open Budget Survey 2017 event in London.

The department told us:

“The new agenda sets out an ambitious framework for action for championing global transparency standards, working with partner countries to deliver greater accountability, and improving the transparency of aid. Its global commitments support implementation of the UK Anti-Corruption Strategy.”

The publication highlighted three key areas for this renewed push on transparency:

  1. Leading by example - building on the UK's strong leadership on aid transparency and global standards
  2. Opening up new areas – for example transparency in international commodity trading – and scaling up work in others such as on beneficial ownership and open contracting. 
  3. Ensuring transparency delivers impact and strengthens accountability

The Institute supports this agenda

The Institute of Export & International Trade has long been vocal and proud about the UK’s lead in driving transparency in international business.

We’ve worked with Brook Horowitz, the CEO Managing Director of Culture of Business, on seminars and workshops on the topic, and also hosted webinars on it as part of the Open to Export programme.

We look forward to continuing to work with DFID in ensuring that the UK remains a world leader when it comes to creating a more transparent and fair global business environment.

Further reading

 ‘Why it’s important to avoid corruption in international trade’ – Open to Export

'Open Aid, Open Societies' - DFID