H.E. Urs Schmid, Ambassador of Switzerland to Serbia

Diplomatic relations between Switzerland and Serbia were established back in 1916, and political relations between the two countries have been strong and diverse ever since. Certainly, we may sometimes differ in our position on certain issues of domestic and foreign policy, but this wouldn’t hamper the quality of our relationship, which is based on mutual respect, understanding and support ~ Urs Schmid

Preparing for his departure from Serbia, Ambassador Urs Schmid says that the two countries’ excellent bilateral relations have been further strengthened over the previous few years, while traditional good relations have been expanded to encompass the new areas of science and innovation. Speaking in this CorD Magazine interview, he summarises his time in Serbia as representing “the most rewarding posting of my diplomatic career”.

Your Excellency, you are nearing the end of your mandate in Serbia, which began during the Covid-19 pandemic. How would you summarise your past few years in Belgrade?

— I would summarise the last few years as a whirlwind of remarkable events, when our excellent bilateral relations further strengthened and our cooperation expanded into new fields like science and innovation, and I would define this time in general as the most rewarding posting of my diplomatic career. It’s true that the start was challenging, with the pandemic, but that allowed me to witness the impressive resilience of the Serbian people and the remarkable response of the Serbian government, including its early procurement of vaccines. The Russian aggression against Ukraine has brought unforeseen challenges to both of our countries, but has also created new areas of cooperation, and I am grateful to Serbia’s government for its support of the Summit on Peace in Ukraine that was recently organised by Switzerland.

How would you assess the quality of political relations between Switzerland and Serbia?

— Diplomatic relations between Switzerland and Serbia had already been established in 1916, and our political relations have been strong and varied ever since. Certainly, we may sometimes differ in our position on certain issues of domestic and foreign policy, but this wouldn’t hamper the quality of our relationship, which is based on mutual respect, understanding and support. Let me just recall the intensive cooperation we had during our consecutive chairmanships of the OSCE in 2014/2015, or our continuous collaboration in the framework of the Bretton Woods Institutions and the EBRD, where we have been partners in the same constituency for 31 and 23 years respectively.

Switzerland was also among the very first countries to provide humanitarian assistance to Serbia in the early 1990s, when Serbia sustained a massive influx of refugees. This laid the basis of our current bilateral cooperation programme, which supports Serbia’s reforms aimed at advancing its European integration and which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2022, certainly marking one of the many highlights of my mandate. We are this year also celebrating 15 years since the conclusion of the bilateral Migration Partnership Agreement, with the importance of this partnership underlined by the visit of our Minister of Justice and Police, Federal Councillor Beat Jans, on 2nd and 3rd July 2024.

Speaking in another interview with the Serbian media, you mentioned the importance of an independent judiciary and strong institutions, including parliament, to a democratic society. Given that Switzerland has supported this process through various projects, how would you evaluate the level that Serbia has achieved?

— Indeed, both an independent and effective judiciary and a strong parliament are key elements of any democracy and, accordingly, they have a central place in the fundamentals of the EU accession process, as well as in global Agenda 2030, as specified under UN SDG 16. I recently had the privilege of meeting with Serbian Justice Minister Maja Popović, and her clear vision of the remaining judicial reforms made a strong impression on me.

Concerning legislative power, we have been supporting the National Assembly and a number of local Assemblies over the past 12 years, with several measures to increase efficiency, transparency and accountability. E-parliaments have been installed at a number of local Assemblies. Digital instruments like the Open Budget Portal would enable MPs to have real time oversight of public spending. Deliberative processes, including public hearings and cross-party caucuses, such as the Women’s Parliamentary Network or the “green chair”, are other concrete examples of these measures. I am, however, disappointed to note that many of these instruments and procedures are unfortunately not active currently. They deserve to be invigorated, as they provide mechanisms that support Serbia’s further democratic development.

Are you satisfied with the progress of local governance in Serbia in terms of improving the quality of services and digitalisation, to which the Swiss embassy has provided significant contributions in recent years?

— Local self-governments are central partners for us, as evidenced by the hundred or so partnerships that we’ve concluded, in addition to cooperating with the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government and with the Association of Towns and Municipalities (SCTM). We have been creating improved conditions for service delivery by working on digitalisation, good governance practices and extensive capacity building. Let me quote a number of indices to answer more precisely: the Transparency Index of Transparency Serbia shows an upward trajectory when it comes to disclosing local budgets and policies. The “Citizen Satisfaction Survey”, conducted by UNOPS, indicates an increasing level of citizen satisfaction with local public services since 2010. The “Good Governance Index”, implemented by the SCTM, testifies to the better respecting of good governance principles among local authorities, even if there is still room for improvement. Deplorably, however, according to the “CSO Sustainability Index” commissioned by USAID, the ecosystem for civil society organisations has been deteriorating over previous years.

Even after your mandate in Serbia comes to an end, the Swiss project supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in Serbia should continue. Do you believe that the goal you mentioned – connecting 80 SMEs as suppliers to large multinational companies over the next few years – will be achieved?

— When it comes to the economy, Switzerland is by all means an important player: we are ranked as Serbia’s 4th partner globally in terms of trade in services, are in the top ten investors for the 2010-2023 period and represent the second biggest source of remittances, after Germany. We are also working hard to further grow our trade in goods, as it has not yet reached a billion euros annually. Against this backdrop, it is understandable that some of our most significant cooperation projects are oriented towards supporting reform efforts in the economic field.

Switzerland was among the very first countries to provide humanitarian assistance to Serbia in the early 1990s, when Serbia sustained a massive influx of refugees

The recently created SME Hub isn’t a project in the classic sense. It is a partnership between the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and private company ICT Hub d.o.o., which specialises, among other things, in providing customised advisory services to large corporations. The aim is to make such cutting-edge advisory services available to smaller companies that haven’t so far been able to afford them, and which sometimes didn’t live up to their full potential as a result. SMEs interested in benefiting from the SME Hub’s services pay 50% of the cost of services upfront, in order to demonstrate their interest and determination. Thanks to the strong relationship that the SME Hub has built with financing partners, including Serbian commercial banks, the Serbian Development Agency and the EBRD, it can serve SMEs very cost-effectively. This is all possible thanks to the substantial expertise available in Serbia’s private sector.

As ambassador to Serbia, you have – like your predecessors – continued to advocate dual education. Can we already talk about the positive effects that this concept has brought to education in Serbia?

— There is no need for advocacy, as the Serbian authorities – including the Ministry of Education, the Government Office for Dual Education and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIS) – have been doing a tremendous job in advancing dual education in Serbia. Given the scarcity of labour and demographic developments, but also rapidly advancing technology, it has become clear that the private sector and the education system need to collaborate more intensively to convey to young people the skills that are relevant to their professional success.

Our role is more of an advisory one. Switzerland has great expertise in this field, which is why the Serbian Government appointed leading experts from Switzerland to advise key stakeholders involved in dual education, basically the education system and the employers, represented in Serbia by the CCIS. Regarding progress achieved to date, Serbia really stands out across the entire region. Approximately 7% of Serbia’s secondary-level vocational students are currently enrolled in a dual studies programme. But our advice is to focus on quality as much as on quantity. In our experience, it is really important for students to spend as much time as possible in the workplace, rather than in school. Through such an approach, students are exposed to real-life workplaces and are empowered to progressively take on responsibilities, boosting their subsequent employability, while employers are able to train their future workforce in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

Given that the whole of Europe, including Serbia, views the conflict in Ukraine with concern, how would you assess the outcomes of the peace conference hosted by Switzerland? Will such initiatives be continued?

— Given the broad, high-level participation and the development of a common understanding on some elements that are crucial for achieving lasting peace in Ukraine, as summarised in the Joint Communiqué, the Summit on the Bürgenstock mountain achieved more than we could have expected. It should be seen as a first important step on the challenging path towards a peace process. The discussions of 15th and 16th June provided a much-needed opportunity to listen to different ideas, learn from each other’s experiences and propose possible solutions. We are therefore confident that the outcomes of this Summit will inspire a constructive way forward and pave the way for further talks with the involvement of all parties. Switzerland stands ready to support such efforts and to continue to play an active role in such endeavours, and we encourage other countries to do so as well.