Switzerland-Georgia: Sustainable Development Perspectives

SWITZERLAND IS AN ACTIVE SUPPORTER OF THE 2030 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AGENDA BOTH WITHIN THE COUNTRY AND ABROAD. THROUGH INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IN FOREIGN POLICY AND DEVELOPMENT, IT IS DOING A LOT TO ACHIEVE THE CURRENT DEVELOPMENT GOALS IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES, INCLUDING GEORGIA. OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST 25 YEARS OF FRIENDSHIP AND PARTNERSHIP, WITH THE INVOLVEMENT AND SUPPORT OF SWITZERLAND, A NUMBER OF INTERESTING PROJECTS HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED THAT WILL CONTINUE IN THE FUTURE–THIS TIME WITH THE GOAL OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN MIND.

Danielle Meuwly, a representative of the Swiss Embassy in Georgia, talks about Swiss experience from the perspective of sustainable development and how it will affect the future of Swiss-Georgian relations.

How does the Swiss Government promote sustainability in the country Switzerland and within development cooperation?

Sustainable development and its promotion by the Swiss Confederation are stipulated in the Federal Constitution. Switzerland is strongly committed to the principle of sustainability both at the national and international level. It played a particularly active role in the elaboration of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which set the framework for the international community to coordinate its efforts. Switzerland’s International Cooperation Strategy 2021-24 explicitly refers to the 2030 Agenda, which clearly demonstrates that Switzerland wants its actions to be part of the international cooperation strive towards its implementation.

On the ground, multi-sector and multi-stakeholder partnerships are always key principles. When partners elaborate their national sustainable development strategies, we try to support and engage in multi-stakeholder coordination and advocate for evidence-based policymaking as well as transparent and inclusive consultation processes. When we define and implement our cooperation strategies, we closely align with partner countries’ sustainable development strategies and SDG priorities. At the project level, Swiss international cooperation activities are selected on the basis of their potential impact and contribution to the SDGs; consider interactions and linkages between sectors and relevant SDG targets; stimulate new partnerships and financing models; and leverage private finance.

The Swiss Government is supporting Georgia’s sustainable development. What are the priority areas and target groups in our country?

Switzerland and Georgia are long standing partners. We are just celebrating 25 years of cooperation to promote better governance, sustainable growth and peace and are about to adopt a new regional cooperation program for 2022-25; this program will consolidate and build on the achievements reached so far. So, we will continue to work on the three dimensions of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental.

In Georgia, the Swiss cooperation is supporting inclusive growth, with a strong focus on the agricultural sector and local economic development. For instance, we are about to launch a new initiative to support the access to finance for rural SMEs. This is particularly relevant for the post-pandemic recovery and it will also usefully complement our work with the IFC on ESG (environmental, social and governance) practices.

More generally, this approach to support growth is combined with activities to foster sustainable management of natural resources and with action to address challenges related to climate change. Together with the Government of Georgia and other development partners, Switzerland will support the implementation

of the forest sector reform: this is a case where the environmental dimension – the sustainable management of natural resources is articulated with the social and economic dimensions – people living in and from forest areas will be trained and capacitated to ensure that their use of forest resources is sustainable. Let me add that this is particularly relevant for women. Women empowerment is supported through all our interventions, be it economically, or through their increased participation and decision- making role in society. This said, we can always do better and Switzerland will further strengthen its approach to inclusion and to poverty reduction, making more systematic where possible. Rural people, women and youth are particularly in need of capacity building, skills development, and political representation.

From your standpoint, how important is it to enhance social and economic growth through multi-sectoral partnerships? Do you promote this direction in Georgia?

This is of utmost importance: when people speak of partnership, they automatically think of dialogue, exchange, compromise, and consensus. These are deeply rooted in the Swiss culture and broadly reflect our way of functioning.

We are very aware that making a compromise and reaching a consensus are not parts of a zero-sum game, but of a win-win strategy for sustainable development! They are key to ensure participation, inclusiveness and broad- based decision-making.

Switzerland promotes multi-sectoral partnerships globally, and definitely also in Georgia. With whom do we partner? Representatives from the public sector, at national and local level, with the private sector and its business associations, with civil society and academic institutions and think tanks. Of course, we closely collaborate with the multi-lateral and bilateral donors.

Could you provide examples of successful multi-sectoral partnerships aimed at achieving the SDGs while dealing with the Covid-19 crisis?

Most of our projects could be given as examples here, since partnerships and SDGs are at the core of our implementing principles. Let me mention the Swiss-financed IFC ESG project that I alluded to earlier. It builds on the evidence that better ESG practices are positively correlated with an enterprise performance, its access to capital and its development outcomes. The project aims at promoting sustainable investment through the adoption of ESG standards by working with financial institutions, firms, governmental agencies and private consultancies. It also engages with the civil society to promote the SDGs.

The pandemic certainly emphasized the importance of partnerships. The crisis is indeed multi-sector: what started as a health problem rapidly expanded to other aspects of life; the quality of partnerships was key to ensure a response to COVID-19 related challenges that would not only be rapid, but also relevant. The Swiss cooperation could count on reliable partners in this respect and I could give you several examples of well targeted actions, such as the customized support provided to SMEs through the Rural SME Development project. The importance of our work at the decentralized level and of building the capacities of LSGs was also made clear, since LSGs were at the forefront of fighting against the pandemic.