ABSTRACT
New trends and developments The most important development of 1996 came in the autumn with the release of the government’s decision-in-principle, or policy profile, on the strate gies and objectives of development cooperation. This had been preceded by the publication in Feb ruary 1996 of a wide-ranging policy review that set out a series of priorities and options for improving the funding and content of ODA. The new govern ment decision represents a welcome shift in focus toward a firmer commitment to development, and a clear break from the low point of the early 1990s when ODA spending was cut, under the previous administration, from 0.8% of GNP to 0.3% of GNP. Reductions in ODA as a percentage of GNP have now been reversed. What increase there is in funds will, this year, be divided equally among all categories of aid.
