BERN, Switzerland, March 6, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — On Wednesday evening 5 March 2014, the FDFA state secretary, Yves Rossier, received Mr Djibril Bassolé, minister of foreign affairs and regional cooperation of Burkina Faso, who is in Switzerland on an official working visit. Switzerland’s long-standing commitment to Burkina Faso, in particular in the field of development and economic cooperation, was one of the topics of the talks. Mali was also an item on the agenda.
Mr Rossier and Mr Bassolé emphasised the quality of relations between Switzerland and Burkina Faso, which have been based on a development cooperation partnership over the last 40 years. Specifically, Switzerland – through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) – supports programmes to reduce poverty, in particular through the modernisation of family farms, access to high-quality education and professional training, as well as decentralisation.
Switzerland is also helping to strengthen the institutional and organisational capacities of the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Burkina Faso and to control public finances. In addition, Switzerland promotes the participation of citizens in the country’s political life as well as transparency in fiscal matters and the commodities trade.
Mr Bassolé took the opportunity of the meeting to express his appreciation for Switzerland’s support for Burkina Faso at the local level via a partnership with population groups, local communities and community organisations. During the period from 2013-2016, Switzerland envisages an annual overall commitment for Burkina Faso of CHF 29 million.
Concerning foreign policy, Switzerland and Burkina Faso are actively promoting peace in West Africa. In this context, Mr Rossier and Mr Bassolé addressed the need for the national political dialogue in Mali to take place in the context of the support provided by the international community. Against the backdrop of Switzerland’s overall commitment to Mali in the field of development, humanitarian aid, peace promotion and the fight against the financing of terrorism, Mr Rossier reiterated Switzerland’s availability to continue its support within the framework of the current process.
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