Development cooperation is repeatedly confronted with false statements and exaggerated expectations. A field report by Maxime Zufferey, Programme Associate at UNDP North Macedonia, shows what development cooperation can achieve and what it can contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Eighty years ago, 43 countries met in the US resort town of Bretton Woods and laid the groundwork for the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The entire post-war order is often exaggeratedly ascribed to that conference. A recently published book puts things in perspective.

The impact of international cooperation is a recurring theme in the media and in Parliament. Yet the ongoing debate says more about the shortcomings in the evaluations and the inadequacy of communication regarding international cooperation in general, than about the actual impact of projects.