The Swiss-Bhutan partnership is founded on a personal friendship going back to the 1950s. Since 1975, most Swiss sponsored activities have been implemented through Helvetas (Swiss Association for International Cooperation).
Helvetas is an NGO formed in 1955 in Switzerland. It has no religious and political affiliations. Helvetas is currently active in 20 countries around the globe, particularly in Asia, Africa and Latin America. It strives to promote sustainable development, oriented towards fulfillment of the needs of the disadvantaged groups of the population.
The goal of the 5th Helvetas Bhutan Country Programme (2008-2012) is: “To contribute towards poverty alleviation and democratic governance in rural Bhutan through promotion of innovative community and household based initiatives, promotion of environmental sustainability, capacity building and good governance”.
