Switzerland and Serbia have been long-standing partners since 1991 and with Swiss financial support of more than EUR 400 million, Switzerland is among the most important of bilateral donors. In the coming years too, Serbia will continue to be a priority country for Swiss Cooperation in Eastern Europe. The Cooperation Office is part of the Embassy of Switzerland and the Cooperation Program is jointly implemented by various Swiss federal institutions:

• The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), a directorate of the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs,

• The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) of the Swiss Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research,

• The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) of the Swiss Federal Department for Justice and Police.

Building on Switzerland’s long-term presence in the country and earlier accomplishments, through The Swiss Cooperation Programme for Serbia for 2022-25 (PDF, 36 Pages, 3.8 MB, English) with a total budget of approximately EUR 95 million, Switzerland will contribute to sustainable development and inclusive growth, while fostering democratic processes, in support of Serbia’s progress towards European standards and values. citizens.

The Strategy focuses on three domains of intervention:

• Democratic Governance and Civil Society,

• Economic Development and Employment,

• Climate Change and Sustainable Urban Development.

Switzerland is the leading donor in the Sector Working Group Human Resources and Social Development. In 2009, Serbia and Switzerland signed a Migration Partnership to strengthen capacities to deal with the challenges of migration. In addition, Switzerland will, in a period 2022-25 support a set of initiatives in line with the Swiss Migration Strategic Framework for the Western Balkans 2020–23, and the global programme for migration and development in the amount of EUR 2 million.

Switzerland’s cooperation is guided by the principles of the transformative process towards a sustainable world, as envisaged in the Agenda 2030, in line with the so-called Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Switzerland supports strengthening Serbia’s commitment to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda by fostering a society-wide dialogue on the development goals and priorities in Serbia and on how best to achieve them.

As of summer 2020, Mr. Richard Kohli is the Director of the Swiss Cooperation Office in Serbia, while his Deputy is Mr. Derek George.