Kosovo

Website of the SDC in Kosovo: www.swiss-cooperation.admin.ch/kosovo/

Switzerland’s cooperation programme in Kosovo began with its participation in an OSCE verification mission. During the armed conflict in 1998–1999, it set up an extensive humanitarian aid programme. In the year 2000 and those immediately following, humanitarian actions and programmes to assist the return of persons displace by the war were soon complemented by reconstruction-assistance measures and by projects to foster livelihoods, to promote culture and to aid development. A medium-term cooperation programme (2004-2006) and a strategic orientation 2007-2008 served to steer Switzerland’s course of action in Kosovo up until it declared its independence on 17 February 2008. Subsequently, based on the priorities of the Government of Kosovo and on Switzerland’s policy for the Balkans, a new cooperation strategy SDC/SECO 2009-2012 was published.

The Swiss Government's bilateral commitment	2009 Mio. CHF	2010 Mio. CHF	2011* Mio. CHF

SDC
Bilateral development cooperation	–	0.04	–
Cooperation with Eastern Europe and CIS	11.09	10.67	10.00
Humanitarian aid	–	–	–
State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO)
Economic Cooperation and Development	1.02	3.43	6.17
Total SDC/SECO commitment	12.11	14.14	16.17

Other Federal Offices
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA (Political Affairs Division IV and other)	3.79	4.74	2.83
Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS)	34.15	37.02	37.50
Federal Office for Migration (FOM)	0.76	0.95	..
State Secretariat for Education and Research (SER)	–	0.05	0.05
Total other Federal Offices	38.70	42.76	40.38

Total	50.81	56.90	56.55

* planned; total based on available data
Bilateral development cooperation excluding program contributions to NGOs
.. = figures not available | – = nil or amount < 5'000 CHF

Development Cooperation: Priorities

The 2009-2012 SDC-SECO cooperation programme focuses on the following priorities:

Economy and employment: development of the private sector, rehabilitation of horticulture, professional training and jobs for youth, advice on quality standards, along with structural and institutional reforms to support economic growth and employment.
Rule of law and democracy: local governance and decentralization, minority rights, modernization of institutions, settlement of disputes on property-right claims, and strengthening of civil society.
Public infrastructures and services: hydraulic and electric infrastructures in the south-eastern part of Kosovo, sustainable management of water resources.
Migration, in conjunction with the Federal Office for Migration: migration partnership between Switzerland and Kosovo, strengthening of Kosovo’s migration authorities, social services for sections of the population under considerable pressure to migrate, Swiss-Kosovo relations with the disapora and the Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian minorities.

The key principles in which Swiss cooperation with Kosovo are embedded are those of equal opportunity for men and women, inclusion of all communities into the projects, good governance, and regional cooperation.

SDC cooperates mainly with the following partners:

The Government, ministries, and the administration of Kosovo
Municipalities (local government)
National and local non-governmental organizations
Swiss and international non-governmental organizations
Swiss firms
Multilateral and bilateral cooperation organisations
International Civilian Office (ICO)
Embassy of Kosovo in Bern

Background information Kosovo

Facts and figures

	Surface area
	Population
	Annual population growth rate (since 1990)
	Life expectancy at birth women / men
	Adult illiteracy rate: women / men
	Gross Domestic Product GDP per capita
	Percentage of population with less than 2 USD per day

10'887

approx. 1.8

0.6

72 / 67

3'035

km2

mill.

USD

.. = figures not available

Source: World Bank's World Development Indicators 2010

Background information provided by the BBC

Local SDC contact address:

Kosovo (Pristina)
Swiss Cooperation Office Kosovo Rexhep Mala Street 6 10060 Pristina - Kosovo
Phone	+381 382 48 091
Fax	+381 382 48 096
Email	pristina@sdc.net
Website	www.swiss-cooperation.admin.ch/kosovo/

Additional Information and Documents

Here, you will find more publications, links, documents and articles about Swiss development cooperation and humanitarian aid in this country.