All news (2925)
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi in Bern for talks with Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis
21.10.2021
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Press release
EDA
On 21 October 2021, Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees was in Bern for talks with Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis and SDC Director General Patricia Danzi. The meeting with Mr Cassis focused on cooperation between Switzerland and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as well as the crises in Afghanistan, Libya, Syrie and Yemen.
Georgia and Switzerland discuss further developing relations
15.10.2021
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Press release
EDA
On 15 October, President Guy Parmelin and Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), welcomed Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili at the Lohn Manor. This was the first official visit by a Georgian president to Switzerland. The talks focused on further developing their bilateral relations, which are dominated by close cooperation and expanding economic ties as well as Switzerland's good offices and long-standing engagement in the South Caucasus.
Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis signs Climate and Environment Charter for Humanitarian Organisations
15.10.2021
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Press release
EDA
Switzerland is the first donor country to sign the Climate and Environment Charter for Humanitarian Organisations and is thereby supporting efforts to make the humanitarian system more sustainable and climate-friendly.
Federal Councillor Ueli Maurer attends IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings and G20 Finance Ministers Meeting in Washington
13.10.2021
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Press release
EDA
From 13 to 15 October 2021, Federal Councillor Ueli Maurer is in Washington to represent Switzerland at the G20 Finance Ministers Meeting and the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group. Thomas Jordan, President of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank, will take part via video link. The meetings will focus on taxing the digital economy and boosting the economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Private sector engagement gaining in importance in international cooperation
12.10.2021
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Press release
EDA
At the beginning of 2021, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) produced its general guidance and handbook on private sector engagement, which is becoming increasingly important for international cooperation. At a symposium in Bern today, representatives of the SDC, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the private sector and civil society discussed the potential and challenges of private sector engagement and how it can contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
UN Human Rights Council recognises right to a healthy environment
11.10.2021
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Press release
EDA
The 48th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva ended on 11 October 2021 following intensive negotiations over more than a four week period. This year the Council adopted three initiatives put forward by Switzerland and its partner countries. One of the resolutions recognised the right to a healthy environment. The second initiative concerned the death penalty, focusing on the lack of transparency in its application and imposition. The third resolution concerned the elimination of child, early and forced marriage in times of crisis.
UN World Data Forum in Bern mobilised experts to offer solutions for the 2030 Agenda
06.10.2021
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Press release
EDA
The UN World Data Forum 2021 (UNWDF) ended Wednesday 6 October in Bern with the adoption of the “Bern Data Compact for the Decade of Action on the Sustainable Development Goals”. This conference, held for the first time in a hybrid format, had a total of 7626 participants registered online, of whom 668 were present in Bern. The Minister of Home Affairs Alain Berset and the UN Secretary General António Guterres highlighted the importance of data to attain the 2030 Agenda.
Federal Council looking to strengthen diplomatic relations with Holy See
01.10.2021
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Press release
EDA
At its meeting on 1 October 2021, the Federal Council decided to establish an embassy to the Holy See in Rome, so as to respond to the increase – noted for several years – in diplomatic tasks. The embassy, also to manage diplomatic relations with Malta and San Marino, will focus on better realising the potential for bilateral cooperation in Switzerland's priority foreign policy areas. Parliament's foreign affairs committees will be consulted shortly.
Switzerland continues to build understanding between cultures and language communities
01.10.2021
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Press release
EDA
On 1st October 2021, the Federal Council approved Switzerland's combined report on implementation of the Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In recent years there have been some positive developments for people belonging to national minorities and the preservation of regional or minority languages. It is essential that the authorities continue this important work.
Strategic partnership dialogue between Switzerland and the United States
01.10.2021
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Press release
EDA
FDFA State Secretary Livia Leu welcomed her US counterpart Wendy R. Sherman to Bern today for the first strategic partnership dialogue between Switzerland and the United States. The discussions focused on the prospects for the two countries' bilateral relations in a changing world, and covered scientific and economic cooperation, Switzerland's good offices and various topical international issues.
Innovative Switzerland rolls out red carpet at Expo 2020 Dubai
30.09.2021
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Press release
EDA
The World Expo in Dubai opens its doors tomorrow, Friday 1 October. Switzerland is participating with its own pavilion, which offers visitors a memorable experience and showcases our country in all its diversity: from the beauty of the Swiss Alps to Switzerland's role as a leading innovation hotspot. Made possible with partners from business, science and politics, the pavilion will be open to the public for six months in order to strengthen relations with Switzerland's most important trading partner in the Middle East and showcase its status as an economic powerhouse and attractiveness as a tourist destination in the region.
Switzerland welcomes signing of transboundary cooperation declaration on Senegal–Mauritanian Aquifer Basin
29.09.2021
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Press release
EDA
At a meeting in Geneva, water ministers from The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Senegal adopted a declaration on the establishment of institutional transboundary cooperation around the Senegal–Mauritanian Aquifer Basin. The ministers also agreed to begin talks on the creation of a mechanism to ensure the concerted and sustainable management of their shared groundwater resources, on which more than 15 million people depend for their water supply. Switzerland, through the Geneva Water Hub, works to facilitate this cooperation, which also enjoys the support of the Secretariat of the UN Water Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, as well as the European Union.
