The different federal government departments are free to adopt their own implementation documents to ensure that Federal Council strategies are properly implemented at departmental level. These can take the form of guidelines, general guidance or action plans, for example. They form the third level of the cascading process.
The FDFA adopts its own implementation documents to ensure that Federal Council strategies are properly implemented at departmental level. Such documents are the following:
Democracy promotion is a priority of the Foreign Policy Strategy 2024–27. To achieve this goal, Switzerland supports international forums, conducts political dialogues, and implements targeted projects on the ground. In doing so, it promotes the resilience of democratic institutions and processes and supports positive democratic developments in a spirit of partnership. The FDFA Guidelines on Democracy 2025–28 outline how this foreign policy priority is being implemented. They define the objectives of this work, set priorities and describe the necessary working tools.
Switzerland is continuing its long-standing commitment to humanitarian mine action. In the new action plan, the FDFA and DDPS jointly set out three fields of action with goals and measures for the years 2023–26. The plan focuses not only on implementing the relevant conventions and support for the clearance of contaminated areas, but also on innovative approaches. In addition, Switzerland will provide targeted support to Ukraine in the coming years.
FDFA activities in the water sector address a variety of issues including access to basic sanitation and hygiene and mediation between riparian states for the peaceful, sustainable use of transboundary waters.
The Guidelines on Water set out principles, themes and priorities to ensure good coordination of a wide range of measures in humanitarian aid, development cooperation and peacebuilding – the three instruments of Switzerland's international cooperation.
Through its 2022–25 action plan for the OSCE, Switzerland seeks to identify measures which will help strengthen the organisation and rebuild European security. The action plan does not aim to cover Switzerland's entire policy within the OSCE; instead, it highlights those areas in which Switzerland can make a significant contribution by 2025.
The General Guidance on the Private Sector in the context of the International Cooperation Strategy defines the parameters for activities by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) in relation to the private sector. It explains the various forms of collaboration with private sector actors and outlines the opportunities and challenges associated with this form of engagement.
Last update 06.08.2025
Policy Planning Division
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