Welcome to Pakistan

Switzerland maintains a longstanding cooperation with Pakistan. In 1966 the Government of Switzerland signed an agreement on technical and scientific cooperation with the Government of Pakistan. In 1977 a Swiss Cooperation Office was opened in Islamabad.

The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is the international cooperation agency of Switzerland within the Swiss Foreign Ministry. As such SDC is also in charge of the cooperation programme with Pakistan.

While the overall objective of poverty alleviation remained the same, approaches and strategies of Swiss Cooperation in Pakistan have been changing throughout previous decades. Currently, SDC’s programme is structured around three broad domains: “Increasing Income”, “Improving Governance” and since the October 8th, 2005, earthquake "Reconstruction and Rehabilitation". These domains are underlined by a “Human Rights Based Approach”. Major components of SDC’s programme are concentrated in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP).