The Cook Islands' acting finance secretary says if a government proposal to put donor aid directly into the general budget is approved, changes to the way the budget is set may also be necessary.
Priscilla Maruariki says consultations on the first draft national aid policy are underway with development partners.
She says the government wants aid to be more predictable, more aligned with the budget process and fully accounted for.
Ms Maruariki says some mechanisms are already in place to ensure the appropriate spending of aid money.
"If we move towards general budget support we might need to change some of our systems to include our development partners in budget discussions so that's an avenue where we'll have their buy-in at the outset of the budget process."
Priscilla Maruariki says the European Union's looking to provide general budget to the Cook Islands within the next financial year.
