All news (849)
2012 Annual Report on Switzerland’s International Cooperation
27.05.2013
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Press release
EDA
The just-published 2012 Annual Report on Switzerland's International Cooperation sets out a unified strategy that encompasses – for the first time – humanitarian aid, technical and financial cooperation, economic and trade policy measures, and cooperation with the countries of Eastern Europe. SDC Director-General Martin Dahinden and State Secretary and Director of SECO Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch stress that this important milestone has been welcomed both by Parliament and by public opinion. The report presents the main results of Switzerland's commitment to combating poverty and reducing global risks.
Switzerland and China are strengthening their cooperation on climate change and training
24.05.2013
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Article
DEZA
The SDC and China are signing two Memoranda of Understanding that will strengthen their cooperation at the global and regional levels.
Switzerland hosts the international conference on disaster risk reduction in Geneva
21.05.2013
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Press release
EDA
Natural and man-made disasters are occurring with increasing frequency. To alleviate suffering, preparedness is becoming ever more important. Switzerland is currently hosting, from 19 to 23 May 2012, the Fourth Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Geneva. The President of the Confederation, Ueli Maurer, opened the conference. It is being chaired by the director-general of the SDC, Martin Dahinden. About 2,500 specialists from around the world have travelled to Geneva for the event, which is organised by UNISDR, the United Nations agency for disaster risk reduction. The main aims of the conference are to strengthen disaster risk reduction in development aid and to consider future policy following the expiry of the Hyogo Framework for Action in 2015.
Information on the Swiss Enlargement Contribution (flyer)
20.05.2013
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Article
DEZA
May 2013
New flyer «The Swiss Enlargement Contribution - Switzerland’s contribution to reducing the social and economic disparities in the enlarged European Union»
Information on the Swiss Enlargement Contribution (flyer)
20.05.2013
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Article
EB
May 2013
New flyer „The Swiss Enlargement Contribution - Switzerland’s contribution to reducing the social and economic disparities in the enlarged European Union”
Annual Report 2012 SECO/SDC on Switzerland's contribution to EU enlargement
17.05.2013
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Article
DEZA
Activities 2012
On 14 June 2012 the commitment period for Switzerland’s enlargement contribution for the EU-10 came to an end. During this time, Switzerland approved 210 projects with the partner countries. With that, Switzerland’s contribution of one billion francs to the EU-10 has been fully committed. As of the end of 2012, 11 projects had been completed. For Bulgaria and Romania, the commitment period ends in December 2014.
Interview with Lucas Riegger, Regional Humanitarian Affairs Officer in Mali
15.05.2013
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Article
DEZA
«A chaotic situation and a strong team»
One year after the food crisis and the takeover of northern territories of the country by armed groups in Mali, the humanitarian situation is critical and its effects are making themselves felt throughout the region. The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has been in the country for 35 years, and has had to adapt to these successive crises. Since mid-February 2013, Lucas Riegger, a member of the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit, has been providing support for the activities of the SDC’s Cooperation Office (Coof). He was previously based in Dakar, Senegal, on secondment for humanitarian aid to the World Food Programme (WFP).
Interview with Annemarie Sancar, advisor for SDC sector policy on gender equality
15.05.2013
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Article
DEZA
Bern, 17.04.2013
Inequality between men and women undermines society as a whole and creates a massive obstacle to development. Over the last 10 years the SDC has integrated the question of gender into all its programmes as a transversal theme.
The Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina on a working visit to Switzerland
14.05.2013
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Press release
EDA
The Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina will make a four-day working visit to Switzerland from 14 to 17 May 2013. It will get to know Switzerland's federal model as an inspiration for constitutional reform and the future-oriented political development of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Interview with Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS during his visit to Bern on 13 May 2013
13.05.2013
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Article
DEZA
«We can bring the AIDS epidemic to an end»
Worldwide efforts to combat HIV/AIDS have made remarkable progress in recent years, and the experts are even looking forward to bringing the epidemic to an end. Much remains to be done, however, particularly as far as access to care services and non-discrimination against those infected are concerned. The Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé, sums up the current situation in an interview granted during his visit to Bern on 13 May 2013.
Visit to Bern by Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé
13.05.2013
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Press release
EDA
On 13 May, Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter, Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), received the Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Michel Sidibé, in Bern. Among the topics discussed during their meeting was the importance of UNAIDS, Switzerland's commitment to the fight against HIV/AIDS, and the sharing of Swiss experience in the treatment of this disease. During his visit to Bern, Michel Sidibé also met with representatives of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH).
8.5.2013: World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day
08.05.2013
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Article
DEZA
8 May is World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day and also the anniversary of the birth of its founder and Nobel laureate, Henry Dunant. This year, 2013, when several special organised events have also been included in the calendar to commemorate 150 years of the ICRC, Switzerland is setting out to pay tribute tothe partners who are keeping its humanitarian tradition and commitment alive. The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) is taking the opportunity offered by the 8 May to emphasise the excellent relations that Switzerland has with the Swiss Red Cross (SRC) and the close cooperation that exists between them.