Press releases, 28.06.2024

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.

This will be the first meeting of the Swiss constituency in the Bretton Woods institutions to be held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. They will discuss cooperation within the constituency and current IMF and World Bank affairs. The focus will be on the challenges facing the global economy, the financial and trading system, sustainable development and poverty reduction. The event will also provide an opportunity to exchange views on digitalisation and sustainable economic growth with high-ranking IMF and World Bank experts in a seminar. Federal Councillors Karin Keller-Sutter and Ignazio Cassis, as well as SNB Chairman Thomas Jordan, will hold bilateral talks with their counterparts on the fringes of the meeting.

The Swiss delegation will be led by Federal Councillor Karin Keller-Sutter. Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis will take part as Vice Governor of the Swiss constituency in the World Bank, and will represent Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin, Head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER). In addition to the multilateral meetings within the framework of the Bretton Woods constituency, Federal Councillors Karin Keller-Sutter and Ignazio Cassis are also scheduled to pay a courtesy visit to Tajik President Emomali Rahmon while in Tajikistan. Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis will also meet Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin.

The Swiss constituency

The members of the Swiss Bretton Woods constituency usually meet in a constituency country every two years outside the customary spring and annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank. Along with Switzerland, the constituency includes Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The last meeting of the Swiss constituency outside the Bretton Woods meetings in Washington was held on 4 July 2022 in Bad Ragaz.

Federal Councillor Cassis will continue on to Kyrgyzstan

Following his visit to Tajikistan, Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis will travel on to Kyrgyzstan and will be received in Cholponata on Lake Issyk-Kul by Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and Foreign Minister Zheenbek Kulubaev. Like Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan is one of Switzerland's priority countries for development cooperation. Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis will learn about Switzerland's contribution to the sustainable development of the Kyrgyz economy and society, and to the security of water and energy supplies. The trip will conclude with celebrations to mark Switzerland's National Day and an exchange with the Swiss community in Kyrgyzstan.


Further information:

Switzerland in the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Article about the visit
Bilateral relations Switzerland-Tajikistan
Bilateral relations Switzerland-Kyrgyzstan
International Cooperation Central Asia


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