South-South in Action: Croatia – A Unique Bridge between North and South Development Cooperation

By March 13, 2019 October 13th, 2020 South South in Action

Many countries around the globe struggle with the challenges of a post-conflict, broken so- cial fabric in education, health, decent jobs, psycho-social and economic recovery of vulnerable populations, mine action systems and in the sustainable return of refugees and internally dis- placed populations (IDPs).

Croatia is an EU member state and accordingly, it represents the largest global development cooperation partner and humanitarian donor. In parallel, based on its rich experiences of war and post-war transition, Croatia has developed a set of unique tools that is directing and shaping its cooperation with other countries facing similar challenges, based on the principles of South- South cooperation (SSC) – solidarity, equality and best-practice sharing. This makes Croatia a unique development cooperation partner.

This report aims to showcase Croatia’s capacities for the achieving of global Agenda 2030. With all of the recent paradigm changes in development cooperation and humanitarian assistance, as set out in major new documents such as Agenda 2030, Addis Ababa Action Agenda, Agenda for Humanity and the Paris Agreement, it is clear that their implementation requires joint efforts by all. Since Official Development Assistance (ODA) can never be enough, and Humanitarian Response Plans can never be sufficiently financed, new ways must be sought to capitalize on Croatia’s potential.