Switzerland has said it will extend its support to Macedonia as envisaged it the new, three-year strategy.
"Today Switzerland ranks among Macedonia’s largest bilateral cooperation partners and the new Swiss Cooperation Strategy 2017 – 2020 foresees financial commitments of 76 million Swiss francs," the Swiss Embassy to Macedonia said Friday in a press release.
The overall goal of this new strategy is to support Macedonia in its reforms to meet European standards and values and to build a socially-inclusive democracy and market economy, while ensuring sound governance of natural resources.
The strategy, the press release stated, follows a pragmatic approach and focuses on improving the living conditions of the citizens of Macedonia. "Details of the strategy will be unveiled at the official launch of the strategy on the 31st of May 2017 in Skopje," it said
Switzerland has supported Macedonia’s political, social and economic transition processes since 1992. This long-standing engagement derives from Switzerland’s tradition of solidarity and responsibility and reflects the importance that Switzerland places on the stability and the prosperity of Macedonia and the region. "Switzerland is committed to continue to deepen its relations with Macedonia by furthering its diplomatic and development activities with the country," the Embassy said.
Over the past 25 years, the Swiss cooperation programme contributed not only to Macedonia’s transition process, but also to the development of strong and mutually beneficial relations between Swiss and Macedonian institutions, companies, and civil society organizations.
Switzerland recognized Macedonia on 12 May 1993 and in bilateral relations uses the constitutional appellation “Republic of Macedonia”. Since 2014, the Swiss cooperation programme is the core area of activity within the Swiss embassy. A dedicated team coordinates the support Switzerland provides in the areas of democratic governance, employment and economic development, infrastructure and the environment, provided through the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC) and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), stated the press release.