Swiss Review 1/2020

Swiss Review / January 2020 / No.1 18 Politics nazio Cassis (FDP) said that “Switzerland’s open and strongly globalised economymakes it reliant on a stable in- ternational order”. The Confederation has an interest in strengthening the constitutional principles in developing countries, on the one hand for the people living there, “but also because these countries are potential futuremarkets”. Switzerland also has an interest in “tackling the underly- ing causes of irregular migration and flight”, Cassis said. However, in the case of migration politics, the Federal Council will refrain frommaking development aid depend- ent on a country’s cooperation – for example in readmitting rejected asylum seekers – as the SVP continues to demand. Aid agencies as well as the Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development (OECD) have expressed mis- givings about this linkage. In spring 2019, the OECDDevel- opment Assistance Committee warned that Swiss development aid should concentrate more on the needs of its partner countries and less on combating irregular mi- gration. Withdrawal from Latin America On the other hand, the OECD considers it a step in the right direction that Switzerland wants to place geograph- ical boundaries on its commitment. The Federal Council intends to concentrate on providing bilateral aid to the poorest regions of Africa, the Middle East, Asia and east- ern Europe, and to reduce the present number of 46 pri- ority countries to 34 in the future. The withdrawal from Latin America is justified with the argument that these countries – with the exception of Haiti – are no longer among the poorest in the world. Aid agencies are less convinced, however. There is massive social inequality and conflict in Latin American countries too, such as in Bolivia, stresses Mark Herkenrath, Managing Director of Alliance Sud, the thinktank of the six largest Swiss aid agencies (Swissaid, Fastenopfer, Brot für alle, Helvetas, Caritas, Heks). Through its efforts, Switzerland is making a major contribution to strengthening civil society and protecting human rights in Latin America. “Awithdrawal is only acceptable if the freed-up resources flow back into combating poverty rather than into building partnerships with the private sector,” says Herkenrath. From experi- ence, there has been limited success inmobilising private resources in fragile states. Controversial role of the private sector However, Federal Councillor Cassis wants to strengthen the role of the private sector. It is “essential that it is in- cluded in development cooperation due to its innovatory strength, expert knowledge, sales channels and investment options”, he said. Fromthe perspective of Alliance Sud, the private sector contributes to sustainable development when it creates “decent” jobs, and respects human rights and the environment in developing countries rather than using them for tax evasion. The Federal Council is expected to decide on its defin- itive message on international cooperation for the period 2021–2024 in February 2020. Last summer, around 250 or- ganisations, parties and associations took part in the first- ever consultation process carried out on the strategic key issues. There has been widespread criticism as many be- lieve the goals are extremely vague. 80 centimes per day/inhabitant Both the strategy and the framework credit for the next four years will be presented to parliament. A total amount of 11.37 billion Swiss francs is envisaged for international cooperation, which corresponds to around 80 centimes per day/inhabitant. The planned total sum is slightly higher than the 11.11 billion Swiss francs that is available for the current 2017–2020 period. Switzerland will no longer spend money on develop- ment aid on the basis of gross national income (GNI). The spending is likely to make up around 0.45 per cent of the Hanging bridge in Nepal: such images are a reminder of where Swiss devel- opment aid began. Back then and today, hanging bridges make life easier – such as here in the Dhading district – attending school, exchanges, trade, development. Photo: Narendra Shrestha, Helvetas