Swiss Ambassador-Designate: For better future, state must work together with civil society

The Ambassador-Designate of the Swiss Confederation to Romania, Arthur Mattli, said on Monday that if a better future is wanted, the state must work together with the civil society and the private sector. Today the contribution of the civil society is very important. If we want to make poverty a thing of the past, if we want to make a better future (...), we must work together as state, civil society and private sector, the ambassador said at an event on the Thematic Fund Civil Society Participation and the Thematic Fund for Partnerships and Experts. He said that these represent a Swiss-Romanian success, 141 successful stories of the civil society in Romania and proof of what civil society can do in a country. Arthur Mattli confessed to reading an article stating that in 87pct of all World Bank projects there is very close cooperation with the civil society. The diplomat said that "Romania well perceived through the eyes of the Swiss" is a wonderful title for the photo brochure made by Cornel Brad of some of the people involved in the Swiss-Romanian Cooperation Program. "This is the best slogan for Romania," the ambassador said. When Romania joined the European Union, Switzerland, which is not a member state of the EU, made a unilateral contribution to the development of Romania (...), a 181-million-dollar project for the development of Romania, Arthur Mattli reminded. Dieter Zurcher, the coordinator of the Swiss Intermediate Body, said that civil society in Romania has become a very active and important one, gaining an important role in democratic development. He said that the 141 projects that were implemented through the Thematic Fund Civil Society Participation and the Thematic Fund for Partnerships and Experts within the Swiss-Romanian Cooperation Program focused on various areas such as: mental health, education for vulnerable children, development community and ecotourism. Dieter Zurcher said that more than 20 million Swiss francs were invested in the 141 projects. "I think this kind of programs must continue, because we need more than ever an active and healthy civil society in Romania, because it has perhaps the greatest credibility in this country," said Catalin Cretu, president of the Foundation for Development of the Civil Society. AGERPRES (RO - author: Iulia Carciog, editor: Antonia Nita; EN - author: Bogdan Gabaroi, editor: Simona Iacob)