Recognizing that the private sector is adopting an increasingly higher profile in global development efforts, European Union development ministers agreed Friday on an ambitious set of proposals to strengthen the role of the private sector in future EU-funded projects.

The role of the private sector in economic development is not in doubt. As a critical stakeholder in every economy, the private sector acts as a provider of income, jobs, goods, and services to enhance people’s lives and help them escape poverty.

Bloom Consulting is a Madrid based strategy consulting company that specialises in country branding and business strategy. His work focuses mainly on nation building projects and the developing of brand strategies in the private sector, as well as corporate strategy and HR consulting. 

The partners in Israel’s offshore Tamar gas field said on Sunday they are negotiating the sale of at least 5 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas over three years to private customers in Egypt via an old pipeline built to send gas in the other direction.

The private sector, innovation and the Asia-Pacific region will be the main focus of Foreign Minister Julie Bishop's "new approach" to foreign aid. Ms Bishop announced the policy on Wednesday during a speech at the National Press Club, with the focus on economic partnerships, rather than a "donor-recipient" top-down approach to aid. The changes will come in the form of a new innovation hub at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra.

Effective, pragmatic partnerships based on shared objectives—economic growth, financial stability, and more—are the future of diplomacy. Such partnerships will be the engine for increased security and prosperity, not just for advanced, but also for emerging economies around the world.

People in developed countries turn on a water tap a dozen times a day without a thought about how that flow contributes to their life, but in international development, water access is a fundamental premise: Give a community clean water, and you improve quality of life and expand opportunity.