Reverse Linkage

89 DEVELOPMENT THROUGH SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION ing the country’s leading experts. The relevant institutions are strongly interested in being involved in this partnership and are keen to respond to the needs of developing coun- tries, with specialists, doctors and public officials always ready to help their counterparts to improve their knowledge, skills and capacities. AIDA has therefore become a liaison agency for Azerbaijan’s relevant experts and institutions throughout the developing world, supporting the efforts of the international community in addressing social and economic challenges. Timely and coordinated provision of international aid in response to the steadily increasing number of aid applica- tions from foreign countries is the principal task of AIDA. Since 2011, the agency has been actively working to promote the donor image of the country globally, to raise the effec- tiveness of the aid policy and to increase the number of partners and allies. From the very beginning, AIDA has been committed to the principles of collaboration, efficiency, transparency and equality in providing aid, implementing various programmes and projects in the fields of humani- tarian aid and international development assistance. The provision of aid to foreign countries is aimed at enhancing international cooperation in the relevant areas. In this regard AIDA cooperates closely and implements joint programmes with the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), IsDB, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other international organizations and donor agencies. Since 2012, AIDA and IsDB have been strategic part- ners in the Alliance to Fight Avoidable Blindness, one of the long-lasting and successful programmes that AIDA is proud to be part of. The campaign addresses a very important challenge, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, as Azerbaijani ophthalmologists working under difficult conditions, Burkina Faso, 2013 Azerbaijani doctors in Burkina Faso, 2013 Image: AIDA Image: ASAN