Ready for shipping: Swiss humanitarian cargo bound for Venezuela.
Keystone / Ennio Leanza
Parliament has approved a development aid budget of CHF11.25 billion ($12.42 billion) for 2021-2024, an increase of CHF147 million compared with the previous period.
The lion’s share of the funding is for humanitarian aid (CHF8.78 billion), with the other pillars being peace and human security (CHF258 million), financing for Eastern European states (CHF1.025 billion), and economic development cooperation (CHF1.186 billion).
As announced by the government in February, the new strategy foresees a reduction in the number of states with which it works and the focusing on four priority zones: the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia (Central, South and South-East), and Eastern Europe.
Much of the debate in parliament focused on the amount of aid allocated, which some politicians on the left said was too low. The only parliamentarians to oppose the budget were from the right-wing Swiss People’s Party.
Carlo Sommaruga from the left-wing Social Democratic Party regretted that the proportion of the annual Swiss gross national income (GNI) set aside for development aid would amount to 0.48% over the three-year period.
“We are far from the objectives set by the [United Nations’] 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” Sommaruga said. He said the amount was lower than what was previously demanded by parliament (0.5% of GNI), and lower again than the objective set by the international community 50 years ago (0.7%).
Given the current economic situation, the coronavirus pandemic, and the uncertainty of the coming years, it would not be wise to raise the budget even more right now, said Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis.
Most Read Swiss Abroad
More
Ups and downs: Swiss drivers benefit from world’s only mobile bridge
Swiss military jet crash: air traffic controller found guilty
This content was published on
Over eight and a half years after the fatal F/A-18 military jet accident in Switzerland, an air traffic controller has been found guilty of negligent homicide by a military appeals court.
Viola Amherd hands over keys of Swiss defence ministry to Martin Pfister
This content was published on
On Friday, the new Swiss government minister Martin Pfister was symbolically presented with the keys to the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport by outgoing minister Viola Amherd.
PostFinance cancels accounts of customers with Cuba links
This content was published on
The financial services arm of the Swiss post office, PostFinance, has cancelled the accounts of several customers with links to Cuba as a consequence of US sanctions against the Caribbean island state.
Basel cannabis study reports improvements in smokers’ mental health
This content was published on
After two years, a legal recreational cannabis study known as "Weedcare", carried out in Basel in northwestern Switzerland, has been given a positive assessment.
Group reports rise in anti-Semitic incidents in French-speaking Switzerland
This content was published on
Anti-Semitic incidents rose by almost 90% in French-speaking Switzerland last year, according to the Intercommunity Coordination Against Anti-Semitism and Defamation (known by its French name CICAD).
Number of Swiss around the world grew by 1.6% in 2024
This content was published on
Last year, 13,300 Swiss citizens moved abroad, taking the total number of Swiss Abroad to 826,700 (+1.6%). Three-quarters have more than one nationality, new figures show.
ICRC pleads for release of German nurse held in Somalia for seven years
This content was published on
The Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has called for the release of Sonja Nientiet, one of its nurses who was kidnapped in Somalia in 2018.
This content was published on
A Swiss court says the cantonal authorities in Geneva should not have introduced a 30 km/h speed limit on its local roads.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
How Switzerland benefits from development aid
This content was published on
Switzerland supports development banks, which aim to boost the economies of poor countries. But aid money also ends up back in Swiss bank accounts.
Switzerland to increase aid partnerships with private sector
This content was published on
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) plans to double the number of partnerships with the private sector in the next two years.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.