There are several motives which inspire financial assistance from public bodies on concessionary terms, such as humanitarian, political, commercial, military and economic.

The direction of U.S. aid shows that it is obvious that aid does not always go to the poor. Some development assistance may be motivated by moral and humanitarian desires to assist the less fortunate, but there is no significant evidence to suggest that over longer periods of time donor countries assist others without expecting some corresponding benefits.

The official aid reports generally point out the humanitarian aspect of foreign aid with its usefulness in promoting social stability in the recipient countries. However, the development motifs of foreign aid still take large part in official reports of donor governments and the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC)85. Moreover, many donor countries consider their national economic interest, political and strategic interest as well.