Responding to the publication of the UK Government's new international development strategy, global affairs thinktank ODI's Director of Development & Public Finance Mark Miller said: 

"Linking international development aid to geopolitical ambitions need not necessarily be a bad thing. We wouldn’t have had the Marshall Plan after World War II otherwise.

"But we do need any plan to actually deliver. This means trade has to be part of a more joined-up, outward-looking economic strategy for the UK. For instance, ODI has been saying for some time that the UK also needs a proper trade strategy and as part of this an import policy that could be used to support trading partner countries who want to export into Britain. 

"The strategy proposes to rebalance multilateral and bilateral funding, effectively reducing the former and increasing the latter.  But what will be the impact of this on the major global challenges such as high levels of debt holding back development? Britain cannot solve these on its own."

ENDS