This article discusses how the relationship between recipients and providers of development aid is deliberated in top-level international fora, where current and future aid practices are reflected and shaped. It is based on a close reading of official declarations, monitoring surveys and progress reports related to the aid effectiveness agenda. The purpose is to find out what happened to the focus of the ownership principle on the aid relationship, and to the ambition of shifting the power balance between those who receive and those who provide resources. This is done by analysing (1) how the aid relationship is indicated and approached, and (2) how ownership is depicted and assessed.While the discussion goes back to the 1960s and builds on a rich and varied body of research, the core of the article is an analysis of official documentation since 2003. Initially the entire material was read through, searching for ways that the aid relationship and ownership are addressed. This led to a twofold systematic examination; first of the terminology used for those who receive and those who provide resources, and for the phenomenon of aid; and, second, of how the meaning of ownership is elaborated and its progress presented in relation to other aspects of aid effectiveness.The analyses show that inherent inequalities of the aid relationship and political aspects of ownership are being downplayed, with the relationship being approached at a rhetorical level and ownership being assessed with a focus on implementation rather than agenda setting. These findings are discussed in relation to critical research of development practice. The article contributes to the literature through detailed analyses of how the aid relationship and ownership are deliberated in a large and influential body of official documentation. In the concluding reflections, implications of the findings are discussed, and a different focus suggested for future development thinking and practice.