has also decided to phase out its bilateral aid projects in the
a Swedish diplomat based in
on Sunday.
Swedish Embassy Second Secretary and Trade
and Investment attache Fredrik Agerhem said the reason behind this is
assistance to poorer countries in the South East Asian region and
“As part of a review of Swedish
development cooperation policy the number of countries that
have bilateral development cooperation with will be reduced from around 100 to
30.The reason behind this decision is to increase aid effectiveness and to
increase focus on the poorest countries. One of the countries that will be
affected by this decision is the
middle income country with a relatively advanced level of development and a
large presence of other donors, the Swedish government has decided to phase out
Sweden’s bilateral development cooperation with the Philippines over the next
two to four years. As a consequence of the decision, no new projects will be
started”, Agerhem said.
development cooperation in the
through multilateral organizations and through civil society organizations
will, however, continue, he noted.
considered for participation in Swedish International Development Assistance
(SIDA)-sponsored training programs.
with the
has amounted to around 170 million pesos (3.86 million U.S. dollars) annually.
also no longer make further contributions to the World Bank-administered
Mindanao Trust Fund for reconstruction and rehabilitation of strife-torn areas
in the region.
has already contributed 210-million pesos (4.77 million U.S. dollars) to the
fund, participated also by the
Zealand
decided to close its embassy in the
the country’s continuous review of its organization abroad and assessment of
its status in relation to changes in the surrounding world and changing
requirements for monitoring and service.
After the closure, applications for visas will
be handled by another Schengen member country’s embassy in Manila, an honorary
consulate will be established to provide basic consular support to Swedish
citizens and Sweden’s embassy in Bangkok will take over the applications for
residence and work permits from the Philippines.