Both sides praised the quality of bilateral relations. In addition to their good contacts the two countries enjoy flourishing economic exchanges. Denmark is Switzerland’s second trade partner in Scandinavia. At multilateral level, Switzerland and Denmark share the same values and often hold the same positions.

With regard to Switzerland’s European policy, Ms Leuthard explained the decision reached with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker in April to resume all negotiations and discussions on pending dossiers. At the end of July, Switzerland and the EU updated their agreements on technical barriers to trade. Ms Leuthard stressed the interest for both sides in continued good cooperation and the consolidation of bilateral relations.

Other topics addressed included the impact of the UK’s decision to leave the EU and migration. In terms of the Paris Agreement on climate protection, both sides stressed the importance of pursuing ambitious goals on climate policy. The agreement must be properly implemented and backed up with strong rules.

International cooperation on the Arctic was also discussed with both sides praising their longstanding cooperation on polar research. Switzerland was approved as an observer to the Arctic Council in May of this year. The Council’s members include the eight Arctic states of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Canada, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the USA, as well as representatives of indigenous peoples and specialised organisations.

Following her meeting with Mr Rasmussen, Ms Leuthard will travel to Greenland accompanied by Professor Konrad Steffen (Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL / ETH Zurich), Professor Thomas Stocker (University of Bern) and Dr Fritz Schiesser (President of the ETH Board), where she will visit the meteorological base station ‘Swiss Camp’ in West Greenland, where Swiss researchers have been gathering data on snow, ice and the atmosphere since the early 1990s.  

Further information:

FDFA: Bilateral relations Switzerland–Denmark

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Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications