President Alain Berset will receive President Hassan Rouhani in Zurich on Monday afternoon with military honours. A first meeting will take place in Bern, which will also be attended by Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis and the Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif. The official talks will be held on Tuesday, 3 July, where Switzerland will be represented by President Berset, the Vice President of the Federal Council, Ueli Maurer, and federal councillors Simonetta Sommaruga and Johann N. Schneider-Ammann. A number of agreements and declarations of intent are expected to be signed during the visit.
Discussions will focus on the latest developments regarding the Iran nuclear agreement (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action JCPOA). The aim is to find ways of preserving the progress made as a result of the agreement and of ensuring the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons in the region despite the decision of the USA to withdraw from it. The delegations will also address the situation in the Near and Middle East. Further issues include the protecting power mandate which Switzerland exercises on behalf of the USA in Iran (since 1980), and that on behalf of Iran in Saudi Arabia and of Saudi Arabia in Iran, which recently came into effect. Also on the agenda is the question of how bilateral relations can be further developed in light of the decision by the USA to re-introduce sanctions against Iran, which had been suspended since 2016.
Iran is an important partner for Switzerland both politically and economically. The two countries adopted a road map to intensify bilateral relations at the end of February 2016 when Johann N. Schneider-Ammann paid a visit to Teheran during his year as president. This served as an impetus to launch or resume regular dialogue in the fields of economic and financial affairs, human rights and justice, nuclear safety and migration. The visit by the Iranian president provides an opportunity to take stock and discuss the next steps in implementing the road map.
Further information:
Bilateral relations Switzerland–Iran
Address for enquiries:
Address for enquiries:
André Simonazzi
Federal Council Spokesperson
Tel.: 058 462 37 03
andre.simonazzi@bk.admin.ch
Logistics and Organisation:
Linda Shepard
FDFA Information Service
+41 (0)79 544 48 16
info@eda.admin.ch
Organisational details are not yet available. Information will be provided in due course.
Publisher:
The Federal Council
Federal Department of Home Affairs
Federal Department of Finance
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
