Ambassador of Switzerland to Bangladesh Reto Renggli on Thursday said his country will focus on further deepening its diplomatic and economic cooperation with the country aligned with Bangladesh’s socio-economic transition.

He made the remarks during his meeting with Foreign Secretary Md Jashim Uddin.

Ambassador Renggli also informed the Foreign Secretary about the Swiss Parliament’s approval of the International Cooperation Strategy 2025 – 2028, which entails substantial budget cuts.

Cooperation on Rohingya, climate, migration issues to continue: Switzerland

As a result, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation will gradually and responsibly phase out its ongoing bilateral development cooperation program with Bangladesh by the end of 2028.

However, Switzerland will stay engaged with and in Bangladesh on humanitarian issues related to the Rohingya refugee crisis, climate risk reduction and migration, he said.

They also discussed avenues to further strengthen trade and investment relations between the two countries.

Switzerland to wrap up dev programmes in Bangladesh by 2028

During their discussion, they covered a wide range of topics related to bilateral relations, including trade and investment, development cooperation, climate change, migration, and the resolution of the Rohingya crisis.

The Swiss Ambassador emphasized the importance of recognizing Bangladesh's potential as the two countries strengthen their relations across various sectors, particularly by involving the private sectors.

Both sides shared a vision of promising opportunities for the future of holistic bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Switzerland.