The Department for International Development (DFID) is the part of the UK Government that manages Britain's aid to poor countries and works to get rid of extreme poverty.

DFID is headed by a Cabinet minister, one of the senior ministers in the Government. This reflects how important the UK Government sees reducing poverty around the world.

The UK Government is committed to meeting the UN target of spending 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI) on official development assistance (ODA). 

Total UK official development assistance in 2007/08 was close to £6.5 billion.

DFID office in Serbia is located in the British Embassy, where the DFID team works together with other parts of the UK Government which are active in Serbia.

DFID activity in Serbia

Since 2001 DFID has committed approximately £30 million to programmes in Serbia – in the current year (2008/09) our bilateral budget is £3 million. The overall purpose of the DFID Serbia programme is to support, through technical assistance and collaboration with other donors, the Serbian government’s efforts in poverty reduction, improving governance and preventing further conflict. Each of the initiatives we support plays a crucial role in taking Serbia further along the road to successful EU integration. We work very closely with our colleagues in the British Embassy from the Foreign Office, as well as the EC and other EU Member States.

Following the fall of Milosevic in October 2000, DFID got engaged in Serbia along side many other donors and provided important technical assistance to the new pro-reform government, particularly in the areas of privatisation and banking rehabilitation.

Our current programme focuses on five inter-related areas:

• Aid effectiveness in support of EU integration
• Reform of the social welfare system
• Implementation of Serbia’s poverty reduction strategy
• Improving governance
• Conflict prevention in inter-ethnic communities

As Serbia becomes increasingly prosperous and closer to EU membership its need for bilateral external assistance diminishes.  For this reason, the DFID programme in Serbia is due to close in December 2010.