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London, 26 June 2026 — The Future of Development Cooperation Coalition concluded its second in-person meeting of Co-Chairs and Commissioners today in London, marking an important milestone as the Coalition enters the next phase of its work refining its guiding principles and preparing the recommendations that will follow for how development cooperation must evolve in a rapidly changing world.
Hosted by the Center for Global Development Europe, the two-day meeting brought together the Coalition’s Co-Chairs, Arancha González Laya and Yemi Osinbajo, alongside Commissioners from government, business, finance, philanthropy, civil society, and academia. Drawing on consultations held across Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America, Commissioners reviewed the Coalition’s emerging Principles and explored bold ideas for its final recommendations, due later this year.
“Over the past six months, we have heard from hundreds of people across every region and from an extraordinary diversity of perspectives. Those conversations have challenged many assumptions, sharpened our thinking, and reinforced that development cooperation must be reimagined in a more interconnected, contested, and changing world. As we continue listening and testing our ideas, the Coalition is now beginning to translate those insights into Principles and later recommendations that are ambitious, practical, and grounded in dialogue,” said Arancha González Laya, Co-Chair of the Coalition.
“The question is no longer whether development cooperation should change, but how. Our discussions focused on the practical choices needed to build stronger country capabilities, mobilize all forms of capital, harness innovation, and create partnerships while reinvigorating the drivers of cooperation. These are the building blocks of a more effective approach to development cooperation,” said Yemi Osinbajo, Co-Chair of the Coalition.
Building on months of consultations, Commissioners also identified a number of areas where themes are beginning to converge. Discussions focused on clarifying the evolving purposes of development cooperation; building capacity across the state, private, and civil society sectors and how they work together; making domestic and cross-border capital work more effectively; leveraging countries’ own assets, from human capability and natural resources to trade; accelerating innovation, including artificial intelligence and the infrastructure that enables innovation ecosystems; strengthening resilience to economic, climate, conflict, and other shocks; leveling the playing field through reforms, including to taxation, trade, debt, the cost of capital, and equal opportunities for women and men; and exploring new approaches to international governance in an increasingly fragmented and multipolar world.
Commissioners also emphasized that the future of development cooperation must respond to the changing nature of global poverty that has changed dramatically. In 1990, around 10 percent of the world’s poorest people lived in conflict-affected countries; today that figure is estimated to be around 60 percent, reflecting the sharp rise in conflict and fragility worldwide. These trends underscore the need for a development cooperation approach that is relevant across both low- and middle-income countries, while responding more effectively to the distinct challenges posed by conflict, vulnerability, and exclusion.
The Coalition will publish its Principles in the summer, reflecting insights gathered through numerous consultations, including in Mexico, Morocco, Rwanda, India, China, Belgium, and with young leaders. These will provide the foundation for a final report, to be released later this year, setting out bold and actionable recommendations for the future of development cooperation. These recommendations are intended to guide governments, multilateral institutions, philanthropies, business, and civil society as they translate new ideas into practical reforms.
About the Future of Development Cooperation Coalition
The Future of Development Cooperation Coalition is an independent, time-bound initiative co-chaired by Arancha González Laya and Yemi Osinbajo. Hosted by the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) and the Center for Global Development (CGD), the Coalition brings together leaders from government, business, finance, philanthropy, civil society, and academia to develop a bold vision and actionable recommendations for the future of development cooperation.
For more information, visit www.devcoalition.org.