From mission to development cooperation

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The Swiss federal development cooperation, organised since 1961 and today conducted by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, has taken over many of the functions that the missions performed in the nineteenth century: education, health, agriculture, vocational training and the support of local institutions. Mission 21 and other church-based organisations remain partners of the federal development cooperation and receive public funds for their projects.¹

The transition from mission to development cooperation reflects the secularisation of European society and the end of the colonial period. The purposes of development cooperation are defined by the goals of sustainable development adopted by the United Nations in 2015 and by the priorities of the partner countries. The methods emphasise partnership, local ownership and the evaluation of results. The paternalism of the missionary era has been replaced, at least in principle, by the idea of cooperation between equals.

Yet the continuity is also apparent. The Swiss development cooperation invests in education, vocational training and health, as the Basel Mission did; it supports local enterprises and markets, as the trading company did; and it seeks to combine economic development with ethical purposes. The Swiss vocational training model, which combines apprenticeship in enterprises with schooling, has been exported to developing countries through development projects, in a way that recalls the mission workshops in Akropong and Mangalore. The history of the Basel Mission thus remains present in the practice of Swiss development cooperation, with its achievements and its questions.

Notes

On Swiss development cooperation (federal service for technical cooperation from 1961; Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, SDC; State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, SECO) and the cooperation with church-based organisations such as Mission 21, see the publications of the SDC. To be verified. ↩

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of August 2025.

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Dr Alexander Ressos, TEP

Rechtsanwalt/Attorney-at-Law

I am a Swiss attorney-at-law and also admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong and in England & Wales, with almost 25 years of experience.

Together with my multilingual team, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Ukrainian and French native speakers, I advise companies and their owners from around the world on the full range of banking, corporate, commercial and tax law matters in Switzerland, including international tax planning, fiduciary services, and legal family office services including immigration & relocation or real estate investments. My practice has a particular focus on clients from growth and frontier markets in Greater China, Central Asia and the Caucasus, the rest of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, and I equally advise clients from Europe and North America. Through an affiliated Swiss trust company, we also take care of the incorporation and ongoing administration of their companies and other structures, including accounting, tax returns and corporate secretarial services, and I serve as a professional director where required. With the support of a network of first-class cooperation partners, I also implement solutions worldwide.

My approach is to act as a trusted advisor who works directly with decision-makers, on an equal footing: I start from what you want to achieve and shape every structure, contract and tax decision around your commercial goals and how it improves your after-tax return. As “lawyers who make it happen”, my team and I stay involved until your company is set up, your structure is in place and your transaction has closed, and we remain available for any follow-on work that may be required. You benefit from bespoke solutions and personal attention, and sound, friendly and practical advice. We are not the lowest-cost provider in the market, nor do we intend to be; our aim is to deliver well-founded, proper solutions and excellent value for money.

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From mission to development cooperation

Notes

Setting up or expanding in Switzerland?