Switzerland to end development aid to 13 countries from 2029

From 2029, Switzerland plans to end development aid in thirteen countries. The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) confirmed this on Sunday, after the SonntagsZeitung first reported it. The number of states considered priorities for cooperation will fall from 34 to 21.

Countries being dropped from the list include Nepal, Armenia, Georgia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Tunisia. Support for multilateral organisations will also be reduced: the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) intends to focus on 18 organisations in future, down from 24 today.

Asked by Keystone-ATS, a department spokesperson confirmed that the SDC's management has already drawn up an initial approach to implementing the decision taken by the Federal Council on 24 June. The FDFA specifies that there will be 21 priority countries, not 20 as the Sunday paper reported.

More money for emergencies, less for long-term cooperation

The realignment involves shifting 330 million francs a year from development cooperation to humanitarian aid. The SDC will contribute 296 million francs to this reallocation. The freed-up funds will go entirely to emergency relief, direct action and contributions to partners working on the ground.

According to the FDFA, this will allow Switzerland to respond more quickly and with greater resources to wars, crises and natural disasters, such as the one that recently struck Nepal, which is itself among the countries leaving the priority list.

The move means a smaller long-term commitment in the countries affected, where development cooperation often supports programmes in education, health and basic infrastructure. Questions remain about what the withdrawal from the thirteen countries will mean for the people affected and for local staff employed on the projects, and about how the transition to other donors or to emergency humanitarian aid, which by nature responds to immediate needs rather than long-term development paths, will be managed.