Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Partners and Colleagues,
It’s a great pleasure to be here with you in Chisinau (pron.: Kischinau) to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Swiss Development Cooperation with Moldova.
Switzerland’s commitment to Moldova is an expression of our country’s humanitarian tradition. Alleviating need and poverty in the world, advancing human rights and democracy, and promoting the peaceful co-existence of peoples as well as the conservation of natural resources are all key objectives of Switzerland’s foreign policy, as enshrined in our constitution.
Switzerland’s development cooperation efforts in Moldova began in the year 2000, after the Moldovan Government asked for assistance in dealing with a severe summer drought. One year later, a Swiss Cooperation Office opened in Chisinau for the first time, and our two governments signed a cooperation agreement. Under that agreement, Switzerland committed itself to assisting Moldova in its transition towards a democratic and pluralistic system and supporting economic development based on social principles.
Between 2001 and 2008, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) mainly provided humanitarian assistance for the most disadvantaged population groups. During this time, Swiss funding helped to rehabilitate the infrastructure of 11 social institutions – among them kindergartens, schools, psycho-neurological institutions and a prison for women detainees. At the same time, SDC started to build water supply and eco-friendly sanitation facilities for private households and social institutions in some of the most remote rural areas.
From 2008 onwards, SDC’s focus shifted from immediate relief and hands-on assistance to more development-oriented interventions. As part of this effort, SDC partnered with various Moldovan stakeholders to implement long-term and comprehensive projects in the areas of health, water and sanitation. Together, we’ve achieved important results. Let me mention only a few of them:
- In the past 15 years, over 50’000 people have gained better access to safe drinking water as a result of Swiss assistance. Water supply systems have been built in 26 rural communities and are managed in a participatory way by water consumers’ associations.
- Over 22’000 people in more than 50 communities now enjoy decent and environmentally friendly sanitation and hygiene facilities installed in schools, public and social institutions, and in private households. The geographical area of SDC interventions in water and sanitation now covers half of the districts of Moldova, including the Autonomous Administrative Unit of Gagauz-Yery.
- Thanks to Swiss support, Moldova has also made great strides in improving the quality of healthcare for mothers and newborns all over the country. Just a few years ago, premature, low birth weight babies had little chance of survival. But improvements made since 2008 have saved the lives of thousands of children who are now leading healthy lives.
- Moldova has also steadily decreased the mortality rates from trauma and poisoning among children under 5 years old. SDC contributed to this success by supporting the establishment of a regionalized system of paediatric emergency care. The system is now fully functional, with three regional centres providing high quality healthcare to children of all ages.
In 2012, Switzerland added a new, innovative sector to its cooperation program – Migration and Development. After four years of cooperation in this area, the Moldovan Government now has a comprehensive mechanism for mainstreaming migration into all its strategies and policies. With SDC assistance, the Bureau for Relations with the Diaspora recently developed Moldova’s first national strategy on diaspora engagement to support the development of their home country and communities of origin. It is known as “Diaspora 2025” and was formally adopted by the Government in February this year.
This week, I’ve had the opportunity to travel across the country and see the impressive results of your work in Moldova.
These achievements would not have been possible without the commitment, dedication, and ingenuity of our partners all across the country. Together we have achieved a lot that we can be proud of.
I would therefore like to express my sincere thanks to all our partners and SDC colleagues for all your hard work and contributions to a more prosperous, more livable and healthier Moldova.
Thank you and “Noroc” [noˈrok] !
(“Cheers, good luck” in Romanian)