The Portuguese Institute of Support for Development (IPAD) was formed

Decree-Law no. 5/2003, of 13 January, creates and approves the statutes of the Portuguese Institute of Support for Development (IPAD), which President, Luís de Almeida Sampaio, took office last January 15th.

Being the result of the merge of Instituto da Cooperação Portuguesa (ICP) and Agência Portuguesa de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento (APAD), IPAD meets the unity, effectiveness and rationality objectives of the new strategic guidelines of the Portuguese foreign policy, within the scope of cooperation, concentrating one sole organizing structure, the coordination of public aid for development, aiming at a better compliance with the international commitments taken by Portugal and a better adequateness with the needs of the receiving countries. 

IPAD, a public institute with legal personality of administrative autonomy and own patrimony, supervised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is responsible for the supervision, management and coordination of the cooperation and public aid for development programmes and projects financed and carried out by State authorities and other public entities, as well as centralization of information on cooperation projects promoted by private entities.

Among other attributions, IPAD prepares the three-year and annual programmes of public cooperation and public aid for development, namely the Cooperation Indicative Plans (PIC) and the Annual Cooperation Plans (PAC), the main base action instruments; promotes the execution of the several programmes and projects and prepares six-month reports; ensures the articulation with the authorities of the beneficiary countries; issues previous binding opinions on the projects proposed by other entities; provides technical support to the Interdepartmental Committee for Cooperation (CIC); and ensures the representation and participation of the Portuguese State in international organizations involved in cooperation and public aid for development, namely in the Portuguese Speaking Counties Community (CPLP), notwithstanding the competences of the specialized sectoral representations.

For further information please see the site of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Last Updateshttp://www.min-nestrangeiros.pt/actualizacoes/