Switzerland will grant non-reimbursable financing of CHF 2.15 million to Romania to assist the latter in the fight against money laundering, writes Agerpres.
The grant is part of a programme of non-refundable financial assistance worth 181 million Swiss francs (about 150 million euros).
Romanian Minister of Public Finance Ioana Petrescu and Swiss Ambassador to Romania Jean Hubert Lebet signed the agreement on Tuesday, with the beneficiary of the project being the National Office for the Prevention and Combat of Money Laundering.
“The Agreement for the Romanian-Swiss cooperation programme, under which Switzerland offers Romania non-refundable funding worth 181 million Swiss francs, was signed four years ago, and the programme was launched three years ago, with the results of the implementation being visible mainly as regards the projects in energy, research, education and promotion of the civil society,” Ioana Petrescu said.
The Romanian official said that the Romanian-Swiss programme for SMEs, worth 20 million Swiss francs, providing investment loans for SMEs, was launched in early 2014, as part of this agreement.
“The Romanian-Swiss cooperation is very efficient and we encountered no serious problems. Romania is a serious, trustworthy and reliable partner,” Switzerland’s ambassador said.