26.09.2011 —
Press releases
EDA
On 26 September 2011, the heads of state of the four German-speaking countries met in Vaduz for their annual exchange of views and opinions. Federal President Micheline Calmy-Rey represented Switzerland at the meeting. The focus of the discussion was on the political and economic situation in Europe, the upheaval in the Arab world and the fundamental theme of education in each of the German-speaking countries.
23.09.2011 —
Press releases
EDA
At the invitation of the Federal Council, Her Excellency Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, President of the Republic of India, will carry out a state visit to Switzerland on 3 and 4 October 2011. Today India is one of Switzerland’s most important partners in Asia. Bilateral and political contacts are constantly developing, and trade and scientific cooperation between the two countries are flourishing.
22.09.2011 —
Press releases
EDA
Federal Councillor Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf as head of the Swiss delegation, Federal Councillor Johann Schneider-Ammann and Philipp Hildebrand, Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank (SNB), will take part in the joint Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group in Washington from 23 to 24 September 2011. The most important topics of discussion in the International Monetary and Financial Committee will be the state of the global economy and the future role of the IMF in the international financial and monetary system. The focus of the discussions in the Development Committee will be the key significance of the labour market for promoting growth, the 2012 World Development Report on gender equality and the assessment of the effectiveness of the World Bank's commitment.
21.09.2011 —
Press releases
EDA
On 26 September 2011, Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Rey will travel to Vaduz for the traditional four-country meeting of the Heads of State of Switzerland, Germany, Liechtenstein, and Austria. The discussions will focus on the domestic political situation in each of the countries, on European issues, and on the challenges facing the educational systems in the four countries.
21.09.2011 —
Press releases
EDA
The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) welcomes the release of the two American citizens Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal from Iranian imprisonment. They were able to leave Iran on September 21st 2011. Within the scope of its mandate as protecting power for the USA in Iran, the FDFA has been engaged over the past two years in seeking a solution to the case of the imprisoned US citizens. A third American citizen, Sarah Shourd, was released from prison on September 14 2010, after bail had been posted.
20.09.2011 —
Press releases
EDA
On the initiative of Switzerland, which is currently chairing the Summit of La Francophonie, an informal meeting of foreign ministers and representatives of the members of the International Organisation of La Francophonie (IOF) was held on 20 September 2011 at the UN headquarters in New York.
20.09.2011 —
Press releases
EDA
A Zurigo ha avuto luogo il 20 settembre 2011 il secondo turno di negoziati tra la Svizzera e l’Unione Europea sul collegamento dei sistemi di scambio di quote di emissioni di CO2. Un accordo in tale ambito consentirebbe il riconoscimento reciproco delle quote di emissioni e favorirebbe l’accesso delle imprese svizzere al mercato delle quote di emissioni europeo, di gran lunga più grande di quello svizzero e dotato di maggiore liquidità.
14.09.2011 —
Press releases
EDA
On 14 September 2011, Federal President Micheline Calmy-Rey received the Kuwaiti Prime Minister in Bern for talks. Discussions focused on bilateral relations between Kuwait and Switzerland, and developments in the Arab world.
14.09.2011 —
Press releases
EDA
Switzerland will be represented by President of the Confederation Micheline Calmy-Rey at the High Level Meeting of the 66th UN General Assembly during the third week of September. The President will take part in the ministerial meeting on non-communicable diseases and in a symposium on international cooperation in combating terrorism. On 21 September, she will speak in the General Debate. Micheline Calmy-Rey will chair a ministerial meeting of the Organisation of the Francophonie, participate in the fourth session of the Panel on Global Sustainability and hold a series of bilateral talks.
13.09.2011 —
Press releases
EDA
On the initiative of Switzerland, which is chairing the Summit of La Francophonie, an informal meeting for the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and representatives of the 75 States and governments belonging to the International Organisation of La Francophonie (IOF) will be held on 20 September 2011 at UN headquarters in New York. This meeting will take place alongside the High-Level Segment of the UN General Assembly.
13.09.2011 —
Press releases
EDA
On Tuesday evening, the President of the Confederation, Micheline Calmy-Rey, received the cantonal government of Ticino in Bern for talks on relations with Italy. Mrs Calmy-Rey made a point of saying that the Federal Council had been actively working on ways to overcome difficulties with Rome on a number of tax issues for some time already. Talks have been taking place with Italy since Mrs Calmy-Rey met the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi at the beginning of June this year.
12.09.2011 —
Press releases
EDA
The Confederation-Canton Geneva Permanent Joint Group on the Priorities of International Geneva (GPC) met today under the aegis of President of the Confederation Micheline Calmy-Rey, head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) and of Mrs Isabel Rochat, head of the Department of Security, Police and Environment of Geneva (DSPE), who was accompanied by Mark Muller, President of the Council of the State of Geneva and David Hiler, head of the Finance Department.