Here you can find the last 12 media releases and other news published by the FDFA, such as statements, announcements and articles, in chronological order.
All media releases can be found on the Administarions's website.
26.07.2024
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Press releases
EDA
Ignazio Cassis, head of the FDFA, will be in Paris from 30 to 31 July 2024 to attend the Olympic Games and meet the Swiss delegation. He will also visit the Maison Suisse, where he will meet members of the Swiss community living in France. Mr Cassis' visit underscores the Confederation's commitment to promoting cooperation and Switzerland's image at the Games.
26.07.2024
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Press releases
EDA
The visit, which lasted from 22 to 26 July, saw Mr Fasel meet with a number of counterparts and high-level representatives of countries in the region, including Singapore, Vietnam and Laos. It also aimed to strengthen Switzerland’s ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
15.07.2024
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Press releases
EDA
NATO is opening a multilateral liaison office in Geneva to engage with the international and non-governmental organisations based there. In Bern today, the director general of the Directorate of International Law at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), Franz Perrez, and John Swords, the legal adviser and director of the NATO Office of Legal Affairs, signed an agreement governing the office's legal status.
15.07.2024
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Press releases
EDA
Switzerland is continuing to act for a world without capital punishment. Universal abolition is one of the Federal Council's 2024–27 Foreign Policy Strategy objectives and one of the four thematic focus areas of the FDFA's 2021–24 Guidelines on Human Rights. The new action plan translates Switzerland's commitment into concrete measures and sets out its priorities in the fight against the death penalty.
15.07.2024
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Press releases
EDA
Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis's visit to San José, Costa Rica, today concludes his journey through Latin America. Discussions focused on bilateral and trade relations, the follow-up to the Summit on Peace in Ukraine at the Bürgenstock resort, and global geopolitical challenges and their regional and global impact. In Peru and Costa Rica, the head of the FDFA met with members of the Swiss community at celebrations organised to mark Swiss National Day on 1 August.
12.07.2024
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Press releases
EDA
The 56th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC), based in Geneva, concludes today after four weeks of intensive work and the adoption of more than 20 resolutions. Switzerland presented a resolution on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of peaceful protests, which was adopted by consensus, and participated in discussions on a range of issues and geographical contexts.
08.07.2024
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Press releases
EDA
Where does the international community stand in the fight against poverty and hunger? This year's High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development at the UN in New York will scrutinise the progress made towards implementing these two goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Switzerland is calling for the inclusion of a new indicator to measure food diversity, thereby strengthening food systems.
08.07.2024
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Press releases
EDA
From 10 to 15 July 2024, Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, head of Switzerland's Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, will pay an official visit to Brazil, Costa Rica and Peru. The implementation of the Federal Council's Americas Strategy 2022–25 will be at the heart of this trip. With the various meetings also focusing on global geopolitical challenges, there will be opportunities to take stock of the Summit on Peace in Ukraine held on the Bürgenstock in mid-June. Mr Cassis will use his time in Costa Rica and Peru to meet with the Swiss community there. He will conclude his trip with a stop in New York to take part in an open debate at the UN Security Council on the preservation of international peace and security.
03.07.2024
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Press releases
EDA
Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis' trip to Central Asia ends today. The head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) visited Tajikistan before travelling on to Kyrgyzstan. Both countries are part of Switzerland's voting group in the Bretton Woods institutions, and the trip reaffirmed the strong cooperation among the group's members. There was also praise for the positive results of international cooperation programmes in the fields of digitalisation and water.
28.06.2024
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Press releases
EDA
Federal Councillor Karin Keller-Sutter and Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, together with Swiss National Bank Chairman Thomas Jordan, will travel to Dushanbe in Tajikistan from 1 to 3 July 2024. There, they will meet with the members of the Swiss constituency in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, the two Bretton Woods institutions. Both Federal Councillors will take the opportunity to hold bilateral talks with representatives of the constituency. Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis will then travel to Kyrgyzstan.
26.06.2024
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Press releases
EDA
The Federal Council is set to propose legislative amendments to enshrine in law Switzerland's practice, developed over the last two decades, on the restitution of illicitly acquired assets of foreign politically exposed persons (PEPs). At its meeting on 26 June 2024, it approved the report in response to the postulate of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Council of States (FAC-S) of 4 April 2019, which asked the Federal Council to examine whether legislation in this area should be harmonised.
26.06.2024
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Press releases
EDA
The Swiss private sector is to play a key role in Ukraine's recovery. Switzerland's Federal Council plans to make CHF 500 million available over the next four years to better involve the private sector in these efforts. The funds will come from the CHF 1.5 billion earmarked for Ukraine in the International Cooperation Strategy 2025–28. In addition, the Federal Council intends to provide CHF 66 million to support early recovery in the east of the country as well as the reconstruction and modernisation of basic infrastructure in the areas of energy security, water supply and public transport. All of this was decided by the Federal Council at its meeting on 26 June 2024.
13.03.2024 —
Press releases
EDA
Since the beginning of the war against Ukraine, Switzerland has sent regular shipments of relief goods to those impacted, with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) spearheading the effort financially and logistically. The first of three aid consignments in 2024 arrived in Kyiv today. The deliveries are made up of spare parts for fire engines, humanitarian demining equipment and medical supplies. This aid, valued at around CHF 900,000, is provided from the stock of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sports (DDPS) and the city of Burgdorf in the Canton of Bern.
08.03.2024 —
Press releases
EDA
At its meeting on 8 March 2024, the Federal Council approved the negotiating mandate with the EU in its definitive form. The mandate adopted takes account of the results of the consultation with the foreign affairs committees (FACs) and other interested parliamentary committees, the cantons and the views of the social and economic partners. Negotiations will begin as soon as the European Commission has adopted its own definitive mandate, expected sometime in March 2024.
05.03.2024 —
Press releases
EDA
In 2023, Switzerland received enormous attention in the international media due to the collapse of Credit Suisse and its consequences. As in 2022, Switzerland's position regarding the war in Ukraine continued to receive regular media coverage. Switzerland's image among the general public abroad remained very good overall. However, in a number of countries Switzerland also faced some criticism.
01.03.2024 —
Press releases
EDA
A number of staff changes and conferments of ambassadorial titles have been announced for the summer of 2024 for several Swiss representations abroad, at the head office of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) and at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), as part of the FDFA's periodic transfer rotation and on the basis of appointments made by the Federal Council.
29.02.2024 —
Press releases
EDA
Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis will represent Switzerland at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum to be held in Turkey from 1 to 3 March. The third edition of the forum will address the issue of 'Advancing Diplomacy in Times of Turmoil'. During the high-level forum, Mr Cassis will participate in a panel discussion on Europe's security architecture. He will also use the dialogue platform to hold various talks on the prerequisites for a peace process in Ukraine.
28.02.2024 —
Press releases
EDA
On 28 February, Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis met Kacou Houadja Léon Adom, Côte d'Ivoire's Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Integration and Diaspora, during a courtesy visit to Bern. Talks focused on bilateral relations, security and stability in the Sahel and Gulf of Guinea, and multilateral cooperation between the two countries.
27.02.2024 —
Press releases
EDA
Travel Admin 3.0 goes live on 27 February 2024. The latest version of the travel app, which is provided free of charge by the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), has been upgraded and redesigned and is now easier than ever to use. Launched in 2019, the Consular Directorate's Travel Admin app has proved useful to travellers facing emergencies abroad, including armed conflicts, natural disasters and accidents.
26.02.2024 —
Press releases
EDA
Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis has today opened the high-level segment of the UN Human Rights Council's 55th session. In his capacity as head of the FDFA, Mr Cassis emphasised the central importance of protecting human rights in order to stem many of today's crises – particularly in the Middle East and Ukraine. Over the next three days, Geneva will host a number of high-level representatives from 130 countries who are meeting at the Human Rights Council to discuss the current failure to respect human rights and how this is impacting the world.
26.02.2024 —
Press releases
EDA
Switzerland takes note of the fourth report of the Investigation and Identification Team of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which has been working to identify the perpetrators of chemical weapons use in Marea, Syria on 1 September 2015. Switzerland condemns the use of chemical weapons in the strongest terms and calls on all parties to the conflict in Syria to refrain from using them and comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law. Those responsible for crimes under international law in Syria must be held accountable.
26.02.2024 —
Press releases
EDA
On 26 February, Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis received the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Mr Saleumxay Kommasith, in Bern for an official working visit. Discussions focused on the development of bilateral relations, Switzerland's partnership with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the geopolitical situation.
23.02.2024 —
Press releases
EDA
At its meeting on 21 February 2024, the Federal Council took note of the report of the Control Committee of the Council of States (CC-S) dated 14 November 2023 and the underlying report of the Parliamentary Control of the Administration (PCA) on the measurement of effectiveness in international cooperation (IC). Although some of the evaluations assessed are of good quality, the CC-S identified a significant need to improve the entire IC effectiveness measurement process.
20.02.2024 —
Press releases
EDA
Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, the head of the FDFA, will address the United Nations in New York on 22 and 23 February 2024 to mark the two-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine. He will take part in the UN Security Council and General Assembly debates on the situation in Ukraine, as well as a side event focusing on humanitarian mine action. He will also participate in various bilateral meetings.
24.11.2022 —
Article
EDA
Approximately 780,000 Swiss citizens abroad currently benefit from the wide range of services provided by a global network of representations offering advice and support. The FDFA Helpline is also on hand to answer queries 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Now there's a new app that makes staying in touch even easier: SwissInTouch keeps Switzerland at your fingertips.
29.01.2022 —
EDA
Allocution du président de la Confédération Ignazio Cassis, chef du Département fédéral des affaires étrangères, à l’occasion du 150e anniversaire du passage de la frontière de l’armée du général Bourbaki - Check against delivery.
21.05.2021 —
EDA
Speech by Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), on the occasion of the 131st (virtual) Session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. Check against delivery.
04.09.2020 —
EDA
Camorino, 04.09.2020 - Address by Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis on the occasion of the Inauguration Ceremony "Ceneri2020" - Check against delivery
25.08.2020 —
EDA
Bern, 25.08.2020: Address by Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis on the occasion of the retirement of the ambassadors and the welcoming of the young diplomats who are taking up their posts in the service of the FDFA. Check against delivery.
26.06.2020 —
EDA
Geneva, 26.06.2020: Address by the Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis on the 75th anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Charter - Check against delivery
29.01.2020 —
DEZA
The FDFA has showcased some innovative technology at the 50th WEF, which could reduce global CO2 emissions by millions of tonnes per year. The SDC undertakes a range of projects in the construction industry, working in cooperation with academia and the private sector. The aim of these projects, which are located in emerging economies, is to tackle global warming effectively.
17.01.2020 —
Article
EDA
Just what is the perfect trip abroad? And where would it take you? Swiss travellers have different needs and expectations – some prefer to go on their own, others would rather choose an organised tour. It doesn't matter if you're a backpacker or a jet-setter: the FDFA provides a wide range of services for anyone who wants to travel abroad.
14.01.2020 —
Article
DEZA
Honeyland has been nominated for an Oscar in the categories Best International Feature Film and Best Documentary. The film’s hero, Hatidze Muratova, champions environmental protection and the sustainable management of natural resources. She was discovered through the Nature Conservation Programme launched by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
20.12.2019 —
EDA
At its meeting on 20 December 2019, the Federal Council approved an exchange of notes between Switzerland and Italy regarding the change of the customs status of the Italian enclave of Campione d'Italia. This exchange of notes is necessary to ensure legal certainty and facilitates the transition of Campione d'Italia into the European Union's customs territory, scheduled for 1 January 2020.
19.12.2019 —
EDA
On 16 and 17 December 2019 a third meeting of the Working Group on Unresolved Issues established by the Joint Committee, supervising the implementation of the Agreement between the Government of Georgia and the Government of the Russian Federation on the basic principles for a mechanism of customs administration and monitoring of trade in goods, signed on 9 November 2011, took place in Bern.