Triangular cooperation projects are jointly planned, financed and implemented by

(I) a beneficiary partner according to the list of countries from the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) that has requested support in dealing with a specific challenge,

(II) a pivotal partner, which has already confronted the challenge in a similar context and shares knowledge, expertise and resources,

(III) a supporting partner (facilitator), which provides financial or technical support to the partnership.

The roles are not linked to fixed countries or partners, so that each of the involved partners can be a beneficiary, a provider of knowledge or a facilitator. The partners do not necessarily have to be countries. Moreover, the number of countries must not be limited to three. Supraregional triangular cooperations between partners in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America are promoted as well.

In the context of constantly evolving international cooperation, triangular cooperation is an innovative modality that has become increasingly important in recent years. TrC projects offer flexible and tailormade solutions to the specific development challenges of the participating countries and strengthen cooperation between partners who do not usually work together. This also includes the private sector, civil society and scientific actors (multi-stakeholder partnerships). TrC not only delivers impacts at the project level, but also strengthens partnerships in the sense of SDG 17 of the 2030 Agenda, explicitly contributing to the joint realisation of the global and sustainable development goals.

To the extent that partners share their knowledge, the horizontality of relations and trust between countries is fostered and strengthened. Through the use of the partners’ complementary strengths and mutual learning effects, TrC also offers added value compared to bilateral projects. By combining support for the implementation of TrC projects, capacity development and the promotion of political dialogue, the Regional Fund makes a decisive contribution to the strengthening and conceptual development of the modality.