All news (850)
Swiss contribution to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
14.03.2014
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Press release
EDA
The Federal Council pledged today a headquarters contribution of CHF 80 million to the ICRC for the current year. This support will be provided from the framework credit of Swiss Humanitarian Aid.
Cultural and academic exchanges with Tunisia: a series of events on the role of migrants
13.03.2014
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Press release
EDA
As part of the exhibition "The Journey to Tunisia. Klee, Macke, Moilliet" at the Zentrum Paul Klee, which is sponsored by the President of the Swiss Confederation, Mr Didier Burkhalter, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) is organising a series of events on cultural and academic exchanges between Switzerland and Tunisia. Under the title "More than a Journey", the events focus on the key role played by migrants in the exchange of culture and knowledge between the two countries.
Official visit to Switzerland of the foreign minister of Burkina Faso
06.03.2014
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Press release
EDA
On Wednesday evening 5 March 2014, the FDFA state secretary, Yves Rossier, received Mr Djibril Bassolé, minister of foreign affairs and regional cooperation of Burkina Faso, who is in Switzerland on an official working visit. Switzerland’s long-standing commitment to Burkina Faso, in particular in the field of development and economic cooperation, was one of the topics of the talks. Mali was also an item on the agenda.
Escaping poverty: Education for All Global Monitoring Report
06.03.2014
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Press release
EDA
Inadequate school education costs poor countries dearly. Billions of dollars invested in education are wasted every year because all too many children who go to school fail to learn basic literacy and numeracy skills. Investing in good teacher training programmes must be a priority to improve this situation. These are the findings of the latest UNESCO Education for All Global Monitoring Report, which was drawn up with Swiss support. The report was launched in Switzerland on 6 March 2014 at the Fribourg University of Education in the presence of SDC Director-General Martin Dahinden and the Fribourg Director of Education, Jean-Pierre Siggen.
Swiss delegation at the UN session on the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls
05.03.2014
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Press release
EDA
The 58th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) begins on 10 March 2014 in New York. This year's session will focus on the evaluation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls, which were set in 2000. For the first time, Switzerland is participating as a voting member of the commission for a period of four years and is representing the Western European and Others Regional Group (WEOG) for two years in the CSW office. In addition, Switzerland has been selected for the high-profile task of leading the negotiations on the final document of this year's session.
Regional development in Poland creates jobs
28.02.2014
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Article
EB
Local initiatives are strengthening economically weak regions in the new EU member states and creating employment. An interim evaluation of ten regional development projects in Poland shows that the implementation of the projects is largely going according to plan and already producing results.
Federal Council approves a contribution of CHF 33.7 million to UNRWA
26.02.2014
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Press release
EDA
At its meeting on 26 February 2014, the Federal Council approved a contribution of CHF 33.7 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). This contribution covers the period 2014–2015. Through its humanitarian and development aid for millions of refugees, UNRWA plays a key stabilising role in the region.
NABO goes Cuba: réseau d’observation des sols sur le modèle suisse
25.02.2014
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Article
DEZA
A Cuba, des émissions de polluants organiques provenant de l’industrie et du trafic routier mettent en danger les sols agricoles. Aujourd’hui, dans le cadre d’un projet de recherche commun, le centre de recherche cubain CENSA et Agroscope mettent en place un réseau d’observation sur le modèle de l’observatoire national NABO qui existe en Suisse. Les données sont censées permettre de déterminer la teneur des sols en substances nocives de manière systématique, dans deux provinces de Cuba pour commencer.
Swiss international cooperation gets very good marks from OECD
11.02.2014
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Press release
EDA
The quality and effectiveness of Swiss international cooperation are recognised in the latest country review by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Switzerland. Singled out for particular praise are the increase in official development assistance to 0.5% of gross national income and the new joint SDC/SECO international cooperation strategy 2013–2016.
Switzerland's strong commitment to Poland through a range of projects
28.01.2014
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Article
EB
During his official visit to Poland on 27 and 28 January 2014, President Didier Burkhalter visited one of the projects benefitting from Switzerland's support as part of its EU enlargement contribution.
The SDC's outlook for 2014
28.01.2014
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Article
DEZA
Director-general of the SDC Martin Dahinden took stock of the agency's activities over the last year at the SDC's annual press conference, and painted a picture of some of the upcoming challenges for this year. Expanding the global programmes in view of the latest Dispatch on Switzerland’s International Cooperation in 2013-2016 will allow us to react to the worldwide challenges of food security and migration, Mr Dahinden said, adding that the decision to increase the SDC's commitment in fragile states has also proved to be right. These issues were presented in greater depth by the deputy head of SDC South Cooperation Department, Willi Graf, and the delegate for Swiss Humanitarian Aid, Manuel Bessler.
Switzerland's strong commitment to Poland through a range of projects
28.01.2014
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Article
DEZA
During his official visit to Poland on 27 and 28 January 2014, President Didier Burkhalter visited one of the projects benefitting from Switzerland's support as part of its EU enlargement contribution.