Swiss delegation visits Parliament

Members of the advisory committee of the Swiss International Development Cooperation (SDC), Friday, visited Rwanda’s parliament and held discussions with the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. The 12-member delegation led by Fazel Hugo the President of the Commission for the Cooperation of Switzerland are in the country to assess several projects supported by their organization. They are also here to witness the progress brought to the population by three SDC-funded projects. During the meeting with Rwandan members of parliament they discussed on how they can enhance cooperation between the two countries in the areas of economy, social and politics. Speaking to the journalists after the meeting, Hugo said that they had an opportunity to deliberate on key developmental issues such as education, investment and capacity building. “Our main task is to advise the Swiss Federal Council and various federal agencies, including SDC, on how to ensure effectiveness of the projects we support here in Rwanda,” he said. According to Hon.Gideon Kayinamura the Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Standing Committee, the Swiss delegation came to re-launch the cooperation between Rwanda and Switzerland which slowed down in the past due to inadequate knowledge about the progress Rwanda is making in terms of democracy and economic development. “We discussed all aspects most especially on how Rwanda parliament can work with the Swiss parliament to promote bilateral relations between two parliaments and countries,” he said. He added that the delegation promised to continue fast tracking the genocide fugitives who are living in their country and send them to International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda as they did in the past. The delegation is also interested in building the capacity of Rwandans in the areas of banking, micro-finance, and education among others. Caroline Gueissaz, one of the delegates, said that she was impressed by the progress Rwanda has made in terms of development in the shortest period of time. The SDC is the agency responsible for international cooperation within the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) of the Swiss government. With other offices of the Swiss Confederation, SDC is responsible for the overall coordination of Switzerland’s development cooperation and humanitarian assistance across the world. Ends