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Mekong (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar)
Website of the SDC in Mekong (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar): www.swiss-cooperation.admin.ch/mekong/
SDC’s work in the Mekong region
focuses on the countries Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar, with particular emphasis on Laos and Vietnam. Switzerland can look back on a long tradition of bilateral cooperation with Vietnam. This
experience enables the SDC to pursue successful development approaches in other parts of the region.
Together with Vietnam, Laos – which shares many similarities with its eastern neighbour – is the most important regional partner for Swiss development cooperation. In the coming years, greater account the regional aspects will be increasingly taken into consideration. The Cooperation Office in Laos is in charge of the Mekong Region programme, and there is also a Programme Office in Vietnam.
As part of its humanitarian aid activities, Switzerland is trying to improve the living conditions of, and basic supplies for, the most disadvantaged population groups in Myanmar and is also
supporting the victims of Cyclone Nargis which hit that country in May 2008. In Cambodia, the SDC is focusing its support on a project in the health-care sector.
| The Swiss Government's bilateral commitment | 2009 |
2010 |
2011* |
|---|---|---|---|
| SDC | |||
| Bilateral development cooperation | 27.29 | 26.21 | 33.90 |
| Humanitarian aid | 5.59 | 5.17 | 5.70 |
| State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) | |||
| Economic Cooperation and Development | 11.85 | 19.96 | 19.52 |
| Total SDC/SECO commitment | 44.73 | 51.34 | 59.12 |
| Other Federal Offices | |||
| Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA (Political Affairs Division IV and other) | 0.55 | 0.41 | 0.37 |
| Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS) | 0.43 | 0.80 | 0.63 |
| State Secretariat for Education and Research (SER) | 0.17 | 0.12 | 0.12 |
| Total other Federal Offices | 1.15 | 1.33 | 1.12 |
| Total | 45.88 | 52.67 | 60.24 |
Bilateral development cooperation excluding program contributions to NGOs
Development Cooperation: Priorities
The programme in the Mekong region concentrates on the following themes:
Rural development and sustainable use of resources:
Promotion of participatory methods for sustainable forest and agricultural land use; strengthening of the capacity of local agrarian institutions, extension services and grassroots organizations; development of mountain regions through the imparting of agricultural knowledge, and support of small familial farms.
Good governance:
Strengthening participatory measures, the legal system and the rule of law; contributing to reforms in public administration, Parliament and the management of public finances; strengthening the legal aid system; training administrative staff. Support for the drawing up of national development strategies, laws and development policies in line with the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals. Building up of the institutional, management and organizational capacity of local partners.
Economic development with emphasis on private sector support (SECO Programme):
Strengthening the private economic sector, the basic infrastructure and of national, regional and international trade. Much emphasis is placed on creating the basic preconditions which allow the poor social strata to survive in the rapidly growing free enterprise economy.
In late 2006, a new liaison office was opened in Vientiane in order to enable the rapid development of programmes in Laos. The opening of the office strengthened Switzerland’s good development cooperation with the Laotian government which began in the mid-1990s. One of the highlights of this fifteen-year partnership is the research project to develop new varieties of rice which has helped Laos to ensure a self-sufficient supply of rice. Another important SDC contribution is the removal of unexploded ordnances which date back to the Vietnam war. The SDC also supports the government-launched reforms of the public administration. The public administration is not only to become more efficient but also more accessible for the population.
Although Cambodia is not a priority country of Swiss development policy, a sizeable project in the area of public health is being developed with Swiss support, i.e., Swiss paediatrician Beat Richner’s hospitals in Kantha Bopha. These hospitals, which have had a positive impact on a majority of Cambodian children and mothers, provide free, high-standard medical care.
The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), with which the SDC has developed a joint strategy, supports the inclusion of Vietnam into the world economy, encouraging its sustainable economic growth so as to reduce poverty. Those projects successfully implemented in Vietnam that are appropriate to serving as model projects for the neighbouring Mekong countries, are replicated thanks to the use of the synergies and hub-like function of the Vietnamese projects. SECO participates actively in trade and investment-promotion programmes, private-sector development and the support of measures targeted at reforming both the financial and the public-finance sectors.
The Political Affairs Division IV is engaged in the human rights dialogue with Vietnam. Priority areas of this dialogue are: legal reforms, torture, the death penalty, rights of minorities, freedom of religion, women’s rights as well as international human rights issues. The dialogue leads to further activities such as seminars, educational trips on the equality of women and men as well as complementary activities in the areas of minority rights, the penal system, international human rights mechanisms etc.
The SDC's partners are:
- Governments and government ministries, for example in Vietnam the ministries of agriculture, education, technology and the environment, as well as of planning and investment
- Provincial, municipal and local authorities
- Swiss NGOs and other (including international) aid agencies
- Grassroots organisations
- Local universities and specialised institutes
- Regional and multilateral organisations
Humanitarian Aid: Priorities
Disaster preparedness and response: assistance to the most disadvantaged
The populations of the Mekong region are exposed to different natural and health risks. Swiss
Humanitarian Aid can react fast, and the scale of the disaster determines whether or not a humanitarian mission is required. This was the case, for instance, in May 2008 when Cyclone Nargis
devastated south-west Myanmar, leaving some 140,000 persons dead or missing. With the assistance of its existing partners, Switzerland provided financial, material and technical assistance in the
emergency and early-recovery phases and will continue its support to the cyclone-ravaged region in 2009. Swiss Humanitarian Aid has been operating for several years in the east of Myanmar and in
camps for Myanmar refugees in Thailand. This commitment helps improve the living conditions of, and basic supplies for, the most disadvantaged population groups, in particular displaced persons and
those fleeing internal conflicts, as well as former farmers who have given up poppy growing.
Background information Mekong region
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Vietnam
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Laos
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Cambodia
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Myanmar |
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Background information provided by the BBC - VietnamBackground information provided by the BBC - LaosBackground information provided by the BBC - CambodiaBackground information provided by
the BBC - Myanmar
Local SDC contact address:
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Mekong (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar) (Hanoi) |
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SDC |
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| Phone | +844 393 46627 |
| Fax | +844 393 46633 |
| hanoi@sdc.net | |
| Website | www.swiss-cooperation.admin.ch/mekong/ |
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Additional Information and Documents Here, you will find more publications, links, documents and articles about Swiss development cooperation and humanitarian aid in this country. |