The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is Switzerland’s international cooperation agency within the Swiss Foreign Ministry. Its mandate is based on the Federal Law on International Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid enacted on 19 March l976, and on a federal decree of 24 March 1995 on cooperation with the countries of Eastern Europe.
International development cooperation and humanitarian aid are both instruments of Swiss Foreign policy, albeit with different focuses. Development cooperation aims to alleviate poverty by helping people in partner countries help themselves. Development activities focus on promoting economic and government autonomy, improving production conditions, helping to solve environmental problems, and providing better access to education, basic health care and culture for the most disadvantaged population groups. Humanitarian aid, on the other hand, aims to save lives and alleviate human suffering as a consequence of manmade or natural disasters.
SDC started its support for Vietnam's transition in 1992 through Bangkok based Asian institutions (AIT, MRC, RECOFTC and AVRDC). This support was managed by the SDC coordination office in Bangkok. In 1994 SDC selected Vietnam to become a “priority country” for its activities. As a consequence, an SDC Coordination Office was opened in Hanoi in 1995. This office is part of the Embassy of Switzerland in Vietnam. The SDC programme in Vietnam was conceived as Switzerland's response to the reform process (“Doi moi”), initiated by the Vietnamese Government in 1986.
SDC’s support to Vietnam is mainly in the form of technical and financial assistance grants. SDC favours contributions to individual projects. Therefore, most of its funds are committed to specific projects with limited implementation periods (two to five years, renewable). Objectives, activities and funding are agreed between SDC and its Vietnamese partners for each phase and specified in a Memorandum of Understanding or an Agreement.
In June 2002, a framework agreement between the Government of Switzerland and the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam concerning development cooperation was signed in Bern, which sets out the general terms and conditions for all forms of development and cooperation between the two countries.
The overall objective of SDC's programme in Vietnam is to support the fundamental structural transition processes in Vietnam. It is aligned with the Vietnam Government's long-term strategies. This programme is defined by means of SDC's medium term programme for the Mekong region, the "Mekong Region Programme" (MRP), which is complemented by annual programmes with detailed yearly objectives for implementation.
The first phase of the Mekong Region programme lasted from 1995 to 2001, with the purpose of supporting the structural reform process in Vietnam, and aimed at adopting open-market economies and supporting Vietnam’s efforts to move towards a more ecologically sound and sustainable form of development. SDC’S resources in Vietnam were concentrated on three sectors: Urban Development, Sustainable Natural Resource Management and Education & Training. Human Resource Development and Institutional Capacity Building were implemented as cross-cutting issues in each sector: SDC disbursements in Vietnam increased consistently from 1995 to 1998, the building-up period, and then stayed more or less stable until 2001.
The second phase of the Mekong Region programme, for the 2002 -2006 period, aims specifically at encouraging an equitable and participatory society, an open and market-oriented economy, and sound management of natural resources within the overall goal of poverty reduction.
The strategic orientations of the programme find their roots in the Socio-Economic Development Strategy 2001 - 2010 and the Comprehensive Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy of the Vietnamese Government. SDC’s interventions are focused in four fields of cooperation: Urban Governance and Infrastructure; Private Sector Development; Natural Resources Management; and the Integration of Vietnam into the World Economy. Crosscutting issues, including gender, sustainability and poverty, are being addressed throughout the programme. Presently, SDC puts particular emphasis on governance: participation, strengthening of civil society, strengthening of legal awareness and the rule of law, transparency and accountability, and enhancement of public administration.
In 2005, Vietnam received about CHF 19 million of the SDC annual funds. Currently, SDC is financing 30 projects throughout Vietnam.
The third phase of the Mekong Region programme,for the 2007-2011 period, is being formulated. SDC is committed to test “new ways of doing business” and engages actively in a number of initiatives for enhanced aid coordination, harmonisation and effectiveness.
SDC’s Partners: So far SDC has worked mostly with Vietnamese governmental organisations and agencies at the national, provincial and district level. Over the last few years, SDC has continuously increased its cooperation with mass organisations (Women's Union, etc.), local NGOs and private enterprises, as well as professional associations.
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