Switzerland will advocate for transboundary cooperation in water management and take into consideration the adverse impacts of climate change. The Programme will build on previous efforts and take into account the regional partners’ capacities. The emphasis will be on common development needs and cross-border opportunities for the efficient and effective use and management of water resources.

In parallel to this regional approach, the Swiss programme will continue to support the national water reform and improved access to reliable public infrastructure services in Uzbekistan. In close coordination with the respective Ministries and agencies, it will select river basins with decentralised and community-based approaches. In these basins, Switzerland will work with governmental partners and the public sector, with development partners and civil society – to demonstrate and scale up the benefits of an integrated water resource management approach.

The Swiss programme will ensure that the implementation of water reforms and tariff policies takes into account the results of the political economy analysis and the principles of Conflict-Sensitive Programme Management. Climate-smart, integrated and inclusive approaches for infrastructure development and planning will be promoted in order to increase the resilience of cities and communities in response to the impact of climate change.

The Swiss programme will support reform processes aimed at enhancing the resilience of the population and institutions, social cohesion and civic engagement. The programme will address reform-implementation gaps by continuing to work to improve access to basic public services. It will support initiatives that increase the efficient and effective use of scarce public funds, strengthen the transparency and performance of state institutions, re-inforce checks and balances, and combat corruption. Cooperation with Civil Society organisations shall be strengthened. The regional Arts and Culture program shall be strengthened to foster a culture of pluralistic expression and exchange.

The new Swiss multi-year project in the Vocational Education and Training VET field responds to challenges and structural changes in the education sector. It supports the ongoing reforms of the sector by strengthening capacities of the key stakeholders. The core elements of a functional VET system are competence training of teachers and the collaboration between government and the private sector. They will contribute to achieving the development goal of more gainful employment of young women and men.

Switzerland will focus on fostering inclusive economic growth within a conducive and environmentally friendly business environment. The additional challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in the region require urgent action and underline in particular the need to strengthen SMEs and market linkages and to restore trust along supply chains. It is also necessary to improve the access of vulnerable groups to information and to economic resources. By focusing specifically on climate-resilient economic development, the Swiss programme will strengthen the long-term viability of sectoral investments.

Switzerland will strengthen its systematic approach to poverty reduction, and will continue to be guided by a gender equality perspective. Its projects will shall include vulnerable groups that are underrepresented or left behind, including a women, youth, (internal) migrants, and ethnic and religious minorities.