Swiss Review 1/2020

Swiss Review / January 2020 / No.1 17 THEODORA PETER Switzerland has been providing development aid for al- most 60 years now. What began with the construction of hanging bridges in Nepal has developed over decades into a comprehensive policy that aims to improve the living conditions of people in developing nations. Since then, millions of people in Africa, Asia and Latin America have benefited from education and health programmes. Swit- zerland has also made its mark as a neutral state that pro- motes peace and the rule of law. To this day, the primary goal of worldwide development cooperation is to fight poverty. For the first time, this cooperation has been linked with the goal of sustainable development in the 2030 Agenda, which was adopted by the United Nations in September 2015, and has an economic, social and eco- logical dimension, including measures on climate protec- tion. Developing countries are future markets In Switzerland, the Federal Council lays down the strategy for international cooperation every four years. It nowwants to set a new course for 2021–2024. When it comes to select- ing the countries and programmes, in addition to reducing poverty, the new strategy should take greater account of the interests of the Swiss economy as well as Swiss inter- ests related to migration and security. When approached for a comment by the “Swiss Review”, Foreign Minister Ig- Swiss development cooperation requires a larger dose of “Swissness” Switzerland wants to tailor its international aid more closely to its own political and economic interests in the next few years. However, aid agencies fear that this will lead to cuts being made to public funds set aside for fighting poverty. Politics Now Switzerland’s aid is helping the poorest countries adjust to climate change. Depicted in the photo: a rain­ water reservoir in the Wag-Hemra region in Ethiopia. Photo: Patrick Rohr, Helvetas