10.10.2010 —
Press releases
EDA
10 October 2010 is World Day Against the Death Penalty. On this occasion, Switzerland reflects on its commitment to the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances and in all regions of the world.
07.10.2010 —
Press releases
EDA
Federal Councillor Micheline Calmy-Rey will pay an official working visit to Estonia and Lithuania on Sunday and Monday next. The head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) will meet her counterparts in the two Baltic countries to discuss bilateral and multilateral issues.
07.10.2010 —
Press releases
EDA
Federal Councillor Hans-Rudolf Merz as head of the Swiss delegation, State Secretary Jean-Pierre Gerber, SECO Director, 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 D.C. from 8 to 9 October 2010. The most important topics of discussion in the International Monetary and Financial Committee will be the state of the global economy and the strengthening of the governance structure of the IMF. The focus of the discussions in the Development Committee will be the strategy of the World Bank, the current World Bank governance reforms and the progress on achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
06.10.2010 —
Press releases
EDA
On 6 October 2010, Switzerland and Kosovo signed an agreement in Pristina on technical and financial cooperation, and humanitarian aid. The agreement creates a new legal framework for cooperation between the two states in the context of the political and economic reforms currently being implemented in Kosovo. The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the State Secretariat of Economic Affairs (SECO) are supporting the transformation process with an annual amount of approximately 15 million Swiss francs.
30.09.2010 —
Press releases
EDA
On 29 September 2010, Federal Councillor Micheline Calmy-Rey met the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, Helen Clark, in Berne. Martin Dahinden, Director of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), took part in the talks. The UNDP is Switzerland's most important partner institution within the UN system in the field of development.
27.09.2010 —
Press releases
EDA
The biggest solar-powered boat in the world, the MS TÛRANOR PlanetSolar, left the port of Monaco on Monday 27 September 2010 at 2.00 p.m. to begin the first-ever voyage around the world by a solar-powered vessel. The Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), which has been supporting the project for nearly two years, is associated with the expedition as an official partner.
23.09.2010 —
Press releases
EDA
The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) condemns the bomb attack carried out during a military parade in the Iranian city of Mahabad in the strongest of terms.
17.09.2010 —
Press releases
EDA
At today’s meeting, the Federal Council approved a dispatch to parliament in which it sets out how it will increase official development assistance (ODA) to 0.5% of the Gross National Product (GNP) by the year 2015. The additional funds are, in particular, to be injected into projects and programmes in the domain of water and the climate, thus enabling Switzerland to fulfil its multilateral commitments.
17.09.2010 —
Press releases
EDA
The Lisbon Treaty entered into force on 1 December 2009. Which changes does this treaty entail for the EU? And what are its effects on Switzerland? These questions were at the heart of this year's International Law Day held by the Directorate of International Law of the FDFA. At the event, experts in European law and representatives from the Swiss federal administration and political sphere provided answers to these questions. In her closing speech, Federal Councillor Micheline Calmy-Rey talked about Switzerland's EU policy against the backdrop of the Lisbon Treaty.
15.09.2010 —
Press releases
EDA
The state of the Millennium Development Goals will be under review at the Millennium+10 Summit in New York in September. Fact: more than a billion people are suffering from hunger today. The world is still far from respecting everyone’s right to food. There are however approaches for a sustainable global food system that hold out the promise of development even for poor countries. This problem and ways to improve food supplies were discussed by Federal Councillor Micheline Calmy-Rey, State Secretary Jean-Daniel Gerber and SDC Director Martin Dahinden as well as other speakers from Switzerland and abroad at the annual joint conference of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).
15.09.2010 —
Press releases
EDA
By 2025, one in two people will suffer from a lack of fresh water. Population growth, uncontrolled urbanisation, migration, and climate change will place greater demands on the planet’s water resources, making water security one of the most pressing challenges of the 21st century. Switzerland, whose stewardship of its own water resources has been exemplary, continues to pursue its decades-long international commitment to the water sector. Nevertheless, given the growing complexity of water-related problems, Switzerland needs to step up its own efforts and those of the multilateral organisations to which it belongs. On 15 September, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) hosted a public forum in Berne, during which it reviewed activities to date and launched a discussion on new ways to tackle the global water challenge.
15.09.2010 —
Press releases
EDA
President Doris Leuthard, head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs (FDEA), and Federal Councillor Hans-Rudolf Merz, head of the Federal Department of Finance (FDF), today received Jean-Claude Juncker, the Prime Minister of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, at the Lohn country residence in Kehrsatz. The Prime Minister was accompanied by Finance Minister Luc Frieden and Minister of Economic Affairs and Foreign Trade, Jeannot Krecké. Discussions focussed on bilateral relations, economic, financial and fiscal issues as well as on the European policy of both countries.