Belgium to end direct aid to Philippines

The Belgian government will soon end its direct aid to the Philippines and will carry out channel development assistance through non-government organizations and multilateral agencies, Belgian Ambassador to the Philippines said Sunday.

Ambassador Christiaan Tanghe told local media that Belgium would provide direct aid only up to August 2007, when the term of the Belgian Integrated Agrarian Reform Support Program (BIARSP) ends.

BIARSP is one of the largest direct aid package in the Belgian government's development assistance portfolio to the Philippines, which has amounted to 900 million pesos (16.6 million US dollars) since its start in 1997.

After 2007, aid funds would flow through non-government organizations, multilateral agencies such the European Union development organizations and the United Nations Development Program, and indirect bilateral cooperation, said Tanghe.

Source: Xinhua