Swiss parliament cuts foreign aid budget

Switzerland will have less money available for international cooperation programmes next year. The House of Representatives on Wednesday cut the foreign aid budget by CHF250 million ($282 million) in favour of the army. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox On Wednesday, the House of Representatives resumed discussions on Switzerland's 2025 budget. Left-wing parties and the centrist Liberal Green Party were unable to oppose international aid cuts worth CHF250 million. Parliamentarians agreed to cut the budgets for bilateral development projects by CHF147.7 million and those of multilateral organisations by CHF52.3 million. They also agreed a CHF50 million cut for economic cooperation programmes at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). Setting new priorities Changing geopolitical situations require new priorities, said Pius Kaufmann of The Centre Party. Speaking on behalf of the right-wing Swiss People's Party parliamentary group, Andreas Gafner ...