Dear reader,
Swiss international cooperation can look back on 2015 as a year of great advances and major successes. Specialised programmes and projects, a results-driven approach and targeted quality assurance have once again enabled the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) to honour their commitments to poverty reduction and the mitigation of global risks.
In 2015, the international community adopted the 2030 Agenda, an important new framework for global sustainable development. One major difference between the new Agenda and its predecessor, the Millennium Development Goals, is its integrated approach. Not only do the 17 new goals knit together the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development, but they are also universally applicable. This means that all state, civil society and private stakeholders – whether from the South or the North – have a role to play in the attainment of these goals. International cooperation is a tangible expression of Switzerland’s commitment to the 2030 Agenda. The adoption of national measures will also help advance these goals. We too can make a contribution in our day-to-day lives. The recognition that each and every one of us has a part to play in sustainable development makes us realise that our actions have enormous worldwide potential and considerable persuasive power.
In recent months, the SDC and SECO reached another milestone: the publication of their joint reports on the results of the Dispatch on Switzerland’s International Cooperation 2013–16. They show not only what has worked well, but also where difficulties lie and areas that could be improved. The achievements made during the previous legislative period are encouraging and show, as the work undertaken in the last year also does, that Switzerland gets the desired results.
Thanks to its neutrality, humanitarian tradition, economic power, democratic values and the quality of its commitment in bilateral programmes and projects and in multilateral fora, Switzerland is a competent, reliable and highly valued partner.
But the last year has also seen tremendous suffering and human tragedy. The heart-rending plight of people in need, living in poverty or fleeing their countries spurred us into action. Swiss international cooperation not only provided emergency aid but also pledged to use its development cooperation resources to tackle the causes of crises and conflicts.
Aid and assistance in times of emergency and sustainable development continue to be focal points of the Dispatch on Switzerland’s International Cooperation 2017–20, which was formulated by the SDC, SECO and the Human Security Division (HSD) and submitted to Parliament in 2016. The document is testimony to the fact that cooperation between public authorities helps bolster effective and coherent commitment.
The annual report 2015 of the Swiss International Cooperation provides an insight into the different ways in which over the past year the SDC and SECO have demonstrated their commitment at both partner-country and multilateral level to ensuring a life lived in dignity, free from want and violence and with economic prospects – a world without poverty and in peace, for sustainable development.
We hope that you will find the report a fascinating and informative read.
