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Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter pays his respects to the victims of the attacks in Ouagadougou

Bern, Press releases, 07.03.2016

On the first day of his journey to Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Malta and Slovakia, Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter visited on Monday the scene of the attacks in Ouagadougou. "It is with much sadness that we are gathered in Ouagadougou this morning, where the attacks of January 15 cost many lives – including two of our compatriots, Jean-Noël Rey and Georgie Lamon" said. Mr Burkhalter, head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, who went on to state that this sorrow is coupled with "a firm commitment to not forget the people that we have lost, to remember in particular that they had come to this country to help its people, and to continue to work to help young people and prevent violence."

Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter visited the scene of the attacks in Ouagadougou.
Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter visited the scene of the attacks in Ouagadougou. © EDA

One of Switzerland's objectives in having a presence in Burkina Faso is, precisely, to bring aid to the country, and allows Mr Burkhalter to see the work carried out by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) on the ground. The SDC is very active in the field of schooling and vocational education and training. Thanks to its commitment – alongside the government of Burkina Faso and other international partners – around 2.7 million children and teenagers receive an education every year. These activities have translated into a higher school attendance rate, which increased from 77% to 85% between 2011 and 2015. School completion rates have also increased from 52% to 60%. Last but not least, 800,000 people (60% women) have learned to read and write since 2012, bringing the country's literacy rate up from 28% to 34% between 2012 and 2015.

Swiss development aid and economic cooperation was one of the key topics discussed between the head of the FDFA and his Burkinabe counterpart, Alpha Barry. The assistance provided by Switzerland centres on three priority sectors: basic education and vocational education and training, rural development and food security, and governance (decentralisation and civic participation). Switzerland has been working in Burkina Faso since 1974 and intends to continue its engagement in the country. This commitment is included in the Federal Council's Dispatch on International Cooperation 2017-2020 which has just been submitted to Parliament. The two foreign ministers also reviewed the relations between their countries before going on to discuss the political and security situation in Burkina Faso and other countries in the region. Mr Burkhalter had also addressed these issues during a courtesy visit to President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré who recently came to power after peaceful elections, allowing the country to enter a period of political transition.

On Monday afternoon the head of the FDFA and the minister of national education and literacy, Jean Martin Coulibaly, will also visit two Swiss-supported schools in the Ouagadougou region that provide basic education to Burkinabe children.

Further information:

Bilateral relations Switzerland – Burkina Faso

Address for enquiries:

Information FDFA
Bundeshaus West
CH-3003 Bern
Tel.: +41 58 462 31 53
Fax: +41 58 464 90 47
E-Mail: info@eda.admin.ch

Publisher:

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs

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Last update 27.11.2017