Portrait Economic Cooperation and Development PORTRAIT

Transcription

1 Portrait Economic Cooperation and Development PORTRAIT

2 STRATEGY Reducing poverty through sustainable growth Our mission is to help achieve sustainable economic growth that reaches all segments of the population in our partner countries, using a range of economic and trade policy measures. In doing so, we aim to reduce poverty and the impact of global risks. Growth should address economic as well as social and environmental aspects, without compromising the well-being of future generations. It enables the private sector to create more jobs and the government to deliver central public services. To achieve our objective, we have defined four target outcomes. These form our contribution to implementing the United Nations 2030 Agenda and its 17 goals for sustainable development. We systematically take into account the cross-cutting themes of good governance and gender equality in all areas of our work. Switzerland s international cooperation OVERALL OBJECTIVE Reducing poverty and global risks; Promoting peace and human rights SECO SECO s strategy seeks to promote sustainable, inclusive growth and thereby also to strengthen our partner countries resilience and response to economic and financial crisis, environmental disasters and political conflict. OBJECTIVE TARGET OUTCOMES Sustainable, inclusive growth Effective institutions and services More and better jobs Trade and competitiveness Climate-friendly growth

3 TARGET OUTCOME Effective institutions and services To develop its economy and reduce poverty and disparities, a country needs the backing of a stable economic and financial environment, sound public finances and a reliable infrastructure system. The state should align public finances with the most pres sing needs of its citizens and business community. This will trigger the investments needed to promote sustainable growth, raising the standard of living for everyone. Businesses and individual citizens should be empowered to maximise their potential. This means giving them access to an affordable water and power supply as well as waste and sewage disposal. We advise our partner countries in managing their public finances responsibly and securing infrastructure financing on favourable terms. They also need legislations and policies that encourage economic activities and comply with international norms and standards. We help to set up the institutions that meet these goals effectively. 7 of our 10 partner countries increased their tax shares of GDP between 2012 and people now enjoy a better public supply of water and power taxpayers benefit from a more efficient and less bureaucratic tax system.

4 TARGET OUTCOME More and better jobs Jobs are key to making economic development as inclusive as possible. Decent work is the most effective means of eradicating poverty. More over, people with work are under less pressure to migrate due to lack of prospects. The private sector creates 90% of all jobs worldwide. To create employment opportunities, however, firms need a pool of skilled workers and a business-conducive environment. To maximise their growth potential, they also need a better access to finance. Better working conditions also help to increase productivity. We make it easier for companies to access the know-how, capital and investments they need, and we promote international environmental, social and governance standards. We broaden the market access for their products and promote a greater and more lucrative local part in product value chains. We also help to build workers skills and promote effective public private dialogue. The goal is to have a better match between training and educational courses and the skills needed in the private sector jobs have been created or retained US dollars in private investments have been mobilised by SIFEM, the Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets US dollars have been saved by removing bureaucratic obstacles.

5 TARGET OUTCOME Enhanced trade and competitiveness Strengthening international trade brings the prospect of more jobs and equal opportunities. However, our partner countries need to enact the corresponding legislation if they are to benefit from this. And businesses need support in diversifying their product range. Partner countries also need competent institutions so as to increase their competitiveness and to defend their interests in international trade talks and implement the agreements at national level. The promotion of sustainability standards and responsible use of natural resources is here of particular importance. The goal of our measures is to ensure that the benefits of globa lization reach as many producers and SMEs in our partner countries as possible. For example, we enable export promotion agencies and business associations to offer reliable advice to potential exporters. We also support training programmes to build knowledge in international trade law and trade policy. We help improve the marketability of our partner countries products and offer tariff preferences for easier market access. In addition, we support producers to create business relationships with Swiss and EU importers. 1. The first fairtrade gold jewellery was sold in Switzerland in producers in Eastern Europe, North Africa and Latin America have brought their products to new, international markets employees in SMEs have received training in sustainable trade.

6 TARGET OUTCOME Climate-friendly growth Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing the world in the 21 st century. Developing countries are particularly vulnerable as they feel more of the consequences of extreme weather events than the industrialised world. And it is the poorest in these countries who are worst affected by flooding and other natural disasters. Climate-friendly strategies are effective in reducing greenhouse gases and, at the same time, they help people adapt to the consequences of global warming. Our activities concentrate on cities and urban centres. These are important sources of economic growth and innovation, but they also generate huge volumes of carbon dioxide and other pollutants. Moreover, urban populations are steadily rising. Compact, well-planned cities and towns with good public transport produce lower levels of greenhouse gases. We support urban development measures and efforts to supply cities with renewable energy. We help utility companies generate and transmit power more efficiently, as we believe everyone should have access to affordable energy. We also encourage the private companies and the financial sector to promote a more efficient use of resources. Such efforts help shape a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy one that can better withstand the impacts of climate change tonnes of carbon emissions were saved in our partner countries people living in Latin America and Asia benefited from urban development plans kilowatt hours of power were generated with renewable energy and improved energy efficiency.

7 COOPERATION Multilateral cooperation Switzerland uses all opportunities at its disposal to help build a strong multilateral system. It supports numerous multilateral organisations committed to implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. These include the multilateral development banks as well as several UN agencies and global funds. The goal of multilateral development banks such as the World Bank Group, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the regional development banks is to alleviate poverty, create free markets and promote democracy. They do this by offering loans and guarantees, often at more favourable conditions or with longer repayment terms than commercial banks. They also advise government agencies as well as SMEs and local banks in efficient corporate management. Switzerland contributes financially to the multilateral development banks and also co-finances their projects. This gives Switzerland a say in their organisation and in how they implement their projects. Together with other federal agencies involved, we define Switzerland s approach and strategy in regard to multilateral cooperation SMEs received loans in 2014 from the Inter- American Development Bank homes were connected to the power grid in 2013 thanks to the African Development Bank people were given access to drinking water from 2012 to 2014 thanks to the World Bank. World Bank Group Inter-American Development Bank European Bank for Reconstruction and Development African Development Bank Green Climate Fund Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Asian Development Bank

8 ABOUT Centre of expertise for economic development The Economic Cooperation and Development division is part of SECO s economic competence. We use this expertise specifically for international cooperation, benefiting from direct access to leading economic organisations, government offices and central banks. We focus on advanced developing and transition countries facing specific challenges in regard to development policy. Our programmes are aligned with national and international development strategies. We systematically apply quality assurance, risk monitoring and resultsdriven management as part of our programmes. This is how we make sure that our measures actually have an impact. We obtained ISO 9001 certification in Since 2007 we have also contributed to efforts to reduce social and economic disparities in the enlarged EU. This contribution falls under Switzerland s European policy and is not part of development cooperation. Management WE Economic Cooperation and Development Management Committee WE WEPQ WEMF WEKO WEOP WEPQ Policy and Quality WEOP Operations South/East WEPO Policy and Services WEQA Quality and Resources WEMF Multilateral Cooperation WEKO Contribution to EU enlargement/ Cohesion WEMU Macroeconomic Support Field offices

9 At a glance ANNUAL BUDGET Almost CHF 420 million. STAFF 110 persons (90 FTE) in Bern and others in the Swiss representations abroad. PROGRAMMES AND PROJECTS We currently have over 300 programmes and projects underway. External reviewers have rated 80% of all projects since 2005 as good to very good. PRIORITY COUNTRIES SOUTH Colombia, Egypt, Ghana, Indonesia, Peru, South Africa, Tunisia, Vietnam. PRIORITY COUNTRIES EAST Albania, Kyrgyzstan, Serbia, Tajikistan, Ukraine. We also implement complementary measures mostly in targeted SDC s priorities countries in the South and the East. CONTRIBUTION TO EU ENLARGEMENT Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary. WEIN Infrastructure Financing WEHU Trade Promotion WEIF Private Sector Development WELG Countries and Global Portfolio

10 Our projects work: In Vietnam, for example, registering a company now takes only 3.5 days instead of 15. Imprint Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research EAER State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO Holzikofenweg 36, CH-3003 Bern Tel info@seco-cooperation.ch Photos: Effective institutions and services: Renato Amenero, Enhanced trade and competitiveness: Diego Perez, Climate-friendly growth: François Carlet-Soulages, Nôi Pictures, Back side: Sébastien Löffler, Nôi Pictures Graphics: vollprecht gestaltung, Basel Unless otherwise stated, the results stated in this brochure refer to the period Bern 2017