Mashav

thumb Mashav () is the Hebrew acronym for the Agency for International Development Cooperation () in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel. Mashav is responsible for the design, coordination and implementation of the State of Israel's worldwide development and cooperation programs in developing countries. MASHAV believes that its greatest possible contribution to developing countries can be made in fields where Israel has relevant expertise accumulated during its own development experience as a young country facing similar challenges. MASHAV's development programs are conducted through workshops and training in the fields of agriculture, education and medicine and are funded jointly with multinational organizations such as the OAS, the Inter-American Development Bank, the UN development plan, UNESCO and the Food and Agriculture Organization. According to the OECD, 2020 official development assistance from Israel decreased by 1.9% to US$287.6 million.

==Background== Mashav was set up in the wake of the Bandung Conference of 1955, from which Israel had been excluded at the demand of Arab countries who threatened a boycott of the conference if Israel was invited. It was established on Golda Meir's initiative, in 1958, after her visit to Africa. Meir stated that it was the expression of an empathy with victims of oppression, discrimination and slavery, but the project also blended other goals, such as escaping ‘the Arab noose’ by overcoming the boycott imposed on it by Arab nations. In the 1960s it was also very active in assistance to agricultural development projects in South America.