Press releases

All news (936)

Business, innovation and sustainability: the International Cooperation Forum 2025 debates the future of international cooperation

28.02.2025 — Press releases EDA
The fourth International Cooperation Forum (IC Forum), which focused economic development, ended today at ETH Zurich. Participants including federal councillors Guy Parmelin and Ignazio Cassis discussed the importance of local initiatives and cooperation between the private and public sectors. The IC Award was also presented to three Swiss companies for their innovations in the field of development cooperation. Over 1,500 people took part in the forum, both in person and online.

Humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Switzerland provides CHF 3 million

14.02.2025 — Press releases EDA
Due to the grave situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Switzerland is providing CHF 3 million in humanitarian aid. This support package will go mainly to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and other partners on the ground who are already active in the areas of health, protection of the civilian population and emergency aid for displaced persons.

Support for reconstruction: Federal Council adopts 2025–28 country programme for Ukraine

12.02.2025 — Press releases EDA
The 2025–28 country programme marks the start of a twelve-year federal support process for reconstruction, reform and sustainable development in Ukraine. At its meeting on 12 February, the Federal Council defined the priorities of the country programme, namely protection of the civilian population, peace, economic recovery and strengthening institutions. CHF 1.5 billion from the international cooperation budget has been earmarked up to 2028. Ambassador Jacques Gerber, the Federal Council's delegate for Ukraine, is responsible for implementing the country programme.

Development cooperation: FDFA and EAER implement Parliament's decisions

29.01.2025 — Press releases EDA
At its 29 January 2025 meeting, the Federal Council was informed about how the cuts to development cooperation decided on by Parliament will be implemented. In late December, Parliament made cuts of CHF 110 million to the 2025 budget and CHF 321 million to the 2026–28 financial plan for bilateral and multilateral development cooperation. The cuts do not affect humanitarian aid, peace promotion or support for Ukraine.

New winter support package for Ukraine: Switzerland helping to repair destroyed homes and energy infrastructure

18.12.2024 — Press releases EDA
Due to the intensified Russian attacks, large parts of the Ukrainian population are suffering from cuts to power and heating. Switzerland is helping Ukraine to cope with the challenges of winter with almost CHF 45 million. The funds will be used to restore energy infrastructure, renovate damaged homes and meet urgent humanitarian needs.

Lebanon: Switzerland sends water and sanitation support

11.12.2024 — Press releases EDA
Since September 2024, developments in the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel have led to the displacement of thousands of people inside Lebanon, depriving them of access to drinking water in particular. Faced with this situation, Switzerland has decided to provide additional expertise and equipment to support ongoing activities in the Bekaa Valley. The aim is to maintain equitable access to water for those affected.

Swiss diplomat Jürg Lauber elected Human Rights Council president

09.12.2024 — Press releases EDA
Jürg Lauber, who currently heads the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations Office and to the other international organisations in Geneva, has been elected to preside over the Human Rights Council (HRC) in 2025. The HRC is the UN's main human rights body. In October, Switzerland was re-elected to the council by the General Assembly for the 2025–27 period after an absence of six years.

Climate crisis in developing countries: Switzerland supports disadvantaged population groups

15.11.2024 — Press releases EDA
Floods and droughts are on the increase worldwide. They impact the poorest population groups in developing countries particularly hard. To bolster their resilience and assist them in adapting to climate change, the head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), Ignazio Cassis, decided to contribute CHF 15 million to the Paris Agreement's Adaptation Fund (AF).

Ignazio Cassis to take part in UN Security Council meetings on Middle East and Ukraine

15.11.2024 — Press releases EDA
The head of the FDFA, Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, will travel to New York on 18 November 2024 to participate in two Security Council meetings organised by the United Kingdom on the situations in the Middle East and in Ukraine.

Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions

14.11.2024 — Press releases EDA
Switzerland has been tasked by the UN with organising a Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions on the protection of civilians in the occupied Palestinian territory. The FDFA is responsible for organising the conference. Ambassador Franz Perrez will oversee this process, while Ambassador Salman Bal will conduct consultations. The conference is scheduled to take place in March 2025 in Geneva. The Federal Council was briefed on the progress of work to organise the conference at its meeting on 13 November 2024.

Switzerland launches project to reduce maternal and infant mortality in DRC

11.11.2024 — Press releases EDA
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) of the FDFA, in partnership with four local organisations, is launching a new project aimed at reducing the mortality rate among mothers and children under the age of five in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, head of the FDFA, has approved CHF 11.9 million for this project, which will benefit over eight million people.

Federal Council approves loan for reconstruction of IOM headquarters

06.11.2024 — Press releases EDA
On 6 November 2024, the Federal Council approved a loan of CHF 44.7 million to the Foundation for Buildings for International Organisations (FIPOI). This funding will facilitate the demolition and reconstruction of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) headquarters in Geneva. The construction work is planned to last four years, from 2026 to 2029.

Media (605)

Business, innovation and sustainability: the International Cooperation Forum 2025 debates the future of international cooperation

Humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Switzerland provides CHF 3 million

Support for reconstruction: Federal Council adopts 2025–28 country programme for Ukraine

Development cooperation: FDFA and EAER implement Parliament's decisions

New winter support package for Ukraine: Switzerland helping to repair destroyed homes and energy infrastructure

Lebanon: Switzerland sends water and sanitation support

Swiss diplomat Jürg Lauber elected Human Rights Council president

Climate crisis in developing countries: Switzerland supports disadvantaged population groups

Ignazio Cassis to take part in UN Security Council meetings on Middle East and Ukraine

Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions

Switzerland launches project to reduce maternal and infant mortality in DRC

Federal Council approves loan for reconstruction of IOM headquarters

Other news (331)

Inclusion and education: All means all – even during the COVID-19 crisis

24.06.2020 — Article DEZA
The international community has committed to ensuring access to quality education for all by 2030. However, nearly 265 million children and young people are currently neither in school nor in training. UNESCO's 2020 Global Education Monitoring Report reminds countries to focus on those who are left behind and progress towards inclusion in education. Inclusion plays a very important part in Switzerland's development cooperation.

Discover the world with the FDFA and with peace mind

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.

Honeyland Oscar nominee

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).

First Global Refugee Forum in Geneva brings together actors committed to finding shared solutions

17.12.2019 — EDA
Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis has opened the Global Refugee Forum together with UN Secretary-General António Guterres and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi. The purpose of the forum, which takes place on 17 and 18 December at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, is to find shared solutions to meet the needs of refugees and their host communities.

Humanitarian aid responds to digital and climate challenges – 33rd Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent comes to a close

12.12.2019 — EDA
The 33rd International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent ended today in Geneva. The conference adopted six resolutions that will enable the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to improve its actions and adapt them to the needs of vulnerable groups, in a world where the demand for humanitarian aid has never been so high. The topic of digitalisation was on the agenda for discussion, for example in restoring family links broken by crisis situations. The conference was opened by Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis on Monday 9 December.

Ignazio Cassis calls for international humanitarian law to be strengthened at the 33rd International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent

09.12.2019 — EDA
Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis called for international humanitarian law to be strengthened in his opening speech at the 33rd International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent taking place in Geneva from 9 to 12 December. Mr Cassis praised the vital work of the 17 million volunteers who make up the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

Swiss initiative: intentional starvation of civilians in civil wars is now a war crime

06.12.2019 — EDA
Following a Swiss initiative, the International Criminal Court (ICC) will from now on be able to prosecute the intentional starvation of civilians in civil wars as a war crime. The ICC Assembly of States Parties took a unanimous decision to this effect earlier today. It strengthens the protection of victims of war.

Swiss diplomat Heidi Grau named OSCE Special Representative for Ukraine

05.12.2019 — EDA
In a triumph for Swiss diplomacy, the 26th Ministerial Council of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has opened with the Chairperson-in-Office, Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák, appointing Ambassador Heidi Grau as Special Representative for Ukraine. A renowned Swiss expert on Eastern Europe, Ambassador Grau thus assumes a key role in working towards an end to the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis welcomes the news of her appointment and considers this a testament to the reputation Swiss diplomacy enjoys within and beyond the OSCE.

Walter Kälin appointed to UN High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement

04.12.2019 — EDA
The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) welcomes UN Secretary-General António Guterres' decision to appoint Swiss law professor Walter Kälin as one of the experts of the UN's newly established High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement, which is tasked with finding solutions to internal displacement and alleviating its impact.

An exhibition to further understanding the importance of humanitarian principles

04.12.2019 — EDA
Humanitarian action is centred on the principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence. Together with the Musée de l'Elysée in Lausanne and the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is hosting an exhibition and forum for debate on humanitarian action and its founding principles. The art installation will run until March 2020 at the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum in Geneva.

30 years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child: Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis meets two school classes on the occasion

20.11.2019 — EDA
The right to education, protection, play and leisure – children have certain rights that, alongside their general welfare, states are obliged to guarantee. These obligations are enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was adopted 30 years ago today. To mark the occasion, Mr Cassis, head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, opened the doors of the Federal Palace in Bern to two school classes from the canton of Ticino.

Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis receives UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen to discuss a political solution to the Syrian conflict

21.10.2019 — EDA
Federal Councillor and head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs Ignazio Cassis has met with the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, in Bern to discuss the situation in Syria and possible ways of finding a political solution. They conferred about the most recent escalation of the conflict in north-eastern Syria and the upcoming first meeting of the Syrian Constitutional Committee in Geneva by the end of the month. Switzerland provides humanitarian support for the people of Syria and neighbouring countries.