On June 25 the Council of Europe hosted a delegation from the French Development Agency (Agence française de développement, AFD). Headed by Ms Hélène N’Garnim Ganga, Director of the Department for Political Transition and Citizenship, the delegation met in Strasbourg with representatives of the Council of Europe’s Justice and Legal Cooperation Department, the Information Society Department, the Venice Commission, the Democratic Governance Department and the Office of the Directorate General of Programmes.

The visit was organised to explore opportunities for co-operation between the two institutions in the fields of personal data protection, democratic institutions, fundamental rights, constitutional reforms, rule of law and judicial reforms. All sides had a rich exchange of information concerning intervention methodologies, geographic scope, strategic objectives and specific project activities. They also explored the potential for partnerships in developing collaborative publications, joint participation in events, mobilising combined expertise and joint financing of specific activities.

The French Development Agency is a public financial institution that implements the policy defined by the French Government, aiming at fighting poverty and promoting sustainable development worldwide. In order to ensure a secure political, social and legal environment in its countries of intervention, AFD works in close collaboration with local partners and on five complementary governance sectors: justice, reform of the state, democratic processes and the media, economic and financial governance, and migration.