On Economic Recovery Plan:

Switzerland has a long standing partnership with Kosovo and a large Cooperation Program; spends on average 16 Million CHF each year; is ready to continue supporting Kosovo in all our areas of support, especially in these times of crisis.

Switzerland has a specific program to support economic development in Kosovo with a focus on to i) private sector development, ii) promotion of youth employment and iii) in partnership with multilateral actors, improving the economic framework; available funding for this area is fully committed to existing projects.

Important to adapt existing support to respond to urgent needs of Kosovo; Switzerland already contributes to some measures included in the Economic Recovery Plan of Kosovo. More concretely:

Related to Measure 3: Swiss projects work actively on supporting Kosovar companies to become more competitive, for example by helping businesses to digitalize their production processes and service delivery.

In line with the overall goal of Measure 4: Since many years, Switzerland supports the Kosovar agriculture sector to increase and improve production, processing and sales capacities. Special focus on fruits and vegetable products.

Related to Measure 7: Swiss activities in the area of skills development, promote, for example, career guidance for young people, which helps young people to find a job.

On Improvement of Donor Coordination:

Switzerland appreciates well-prepared donor coordination meetings; welcomes having received agenda and documentation on government’s priorities and financing gaps ahead of discussion today

Strong ownership of Government is needed to move from simple information exchange to effective donor coordination and ensuring alignment with national priorities