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International Relations & Diplomacy vocabulary · Sanctions & Economic Diplomacy

Foreign aid

Meaning in international relations & diplomacy, with examples

nounCommon term

In international relations & diplomacy, foreign aid means: Money, goods, loans or expertise given by one country or organisation to another, usually to support development, respond to disasters or strengthen relations.

In Turkish: dış yardım, kalkınma yardımı

How it is used

Also called 'development aid' or 'development assistance'; the OECD term is 'official development assistance' (ODA). Aid can be bilateral or multilateral, and 'tied aid' must be spent on goods and services from the donor country. The main parties are donors and recipients.

Example sentences

  1. The government plans to increase foreign aid to 0.5% of national income.

  2. Most of the country's foreign aid goes to health and education projects.

  3. Critics say foreign aid is sometimes used to win political support.

Common collocations

  • foreign aid budget
  • development aid
  • humanitarian aid
  • tied aid
  • aid donor
  • economic diplomacyThe use of diplomatic tools and networks to support a country's economic interests, such as trade, investment, energy deals and access to foreign markets.
  • soft powerA country's ability to influence others through attraction, such as its culture, values, education and policies, rather than through force or payment.
  • NGOShort for non-governmental organisation: a non-profit group that is independent of governments and works on issues such as human rights, aid, development or the environment.
  • sanctionsPenalties, such as trade restrictions or frozen assets, that one or more countries or international organisations impose on a state, group or person to change their behaviour.

More terms: Sanctions & Economic Diplomacy

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