Working visit to Bern by NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen

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Services – Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of Congo and Gabon
Visa – Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of Congo and Gabon

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NATO Secretary General was invited to Switzerland by the University of Zurich to give the Special Churchill Lecture 2012. On this occasion he was invited by Mr Maurer and Mr Burkhalter to Lohn mansion for an official working visit, where he was received with military honours.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), together with the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the European Union (EU), is one of the central institutional pillars of the European security architecture. Since 1996 Switzerland has been a member of the Partnership for Peace (PfP) and since 1997 it has been a member of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC).

The topics discussed included current security policy issues, Swiss security policy and the development of NATO in general and its partnerships policy in particular. Cooperation between NATO and other organisations such as the EU and the OSCE were further agenda items. Switzerland will assume the chairmanship of the OSCE in 2014.

The discussion partners came from both departments and included Lieutenant General André Blattmann, Chief of the Armed Forces. They also discussed co-operation between Switzerland and NATO. In connection with Switzerland's activities in the Partnership for Peace, the talks focused on Switzerland's continuing activity since 1999 in the multinational Kosovo Force (KFOR) lead by NATO.

Finally, federal councillors Maurer and Burkhalter also talked to Mr Rasmussen about possibilities of extending cooperation in peace building deployments, the fight against cyber threats and the field of international humanitarian law.

Further information:

Information FDFA
Tel. +31 322 31 53

Peter Minder
Head of Communication DDCPS
Tel. +31 324 50 82