News

Syria has been undergoing fundamental change since the fall of the Assad regime at the end of 2024. This has prompted Switzerland to step up its efforts to promote a political transition and the country's socio-economic development. Its existing humanitarian office was therefore upgraded to a cooperation office at the beginning of 2026. SDC Director General Patricia Danzi and Ambassador Monika Schmutz Kirgöz, head of the FDFA's MENA Division, officially opened the cooperation office in Damascus on 8 July 2026. They also saw for themselves what Switzerland is now doing on the ground.

Markus Mäder, State Secretary for Security Policy, will host Moldovan State Secretary Ghenadie Cojocaru on 9 July 2026 for the second security policy dialogue between the two defence ministries. The talks will focus on the deteriorated security situation in Europe, hybrid threats as well as on multilateral and bilateral cooperation.

Platform chemicals such as ethylene are most often made from fossil source materials and generate considerable CO₂ emissions. The EU-funded project REACT, in which Empa is one of the partners, aims to instead produce ethylene from industrial CO₂ waste, thus closing the carbon loop. The consortium is developing a functional electrolysis system for the conversion of CO₂ to ethylene.

The Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO) has been auditing key projects of the Federal Administration on behalf of the Federal Council since 2013. Key projects are information and communication technology (ICT) projects where resource use, strategic importance and risks are high. The summary report is intended to improve the steering of key projects and is aimed in particular at project sponsors, office heads and general secretariats. In 2016, in an initial summary report on key projects, the SFAO described patterns and issues found in 20 audits. Ten years later, it has come to the conclusion that significant shortcomings identified back in 2016 still exist. The administrative units and departments have not yet managed to embed improvements in a lasting way within the organisation or in follow-up projects.

During his visit to Mexico on Wednesday, 8 July, President Guy Parmelin met with President Claudia Sheinbaum and ministers from the Mexican government. The talks focused on bilateral relations, trade policy and the geopolitical situation. President Parmelin was accompanied on his visit by a business delegation.

On 8 July, the members of the OECD's Development Assistance Committee (DAC) elected Ambassador Thomas Gass as their next chair. The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) and the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER) supported his candidacy and welcome his election.

The 62nd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council has concluded in Geneva. The Human Rights Council marked its 20th anniversary on 19 June 2026. Switzerland worked towards its foundation, thus helping to establish a body that furthers state-level accountability and helps drive the development of international human rights standards. The session that ended today focused on women's rights and gender equality. Switzerland advocated strongly for an end to forced marriage and violence against women and girls in various contexts.

Opening address by Federal Councillor Albert Rösti

The Swiss Confederation issued two bonds by auction on 08.07.2026: 2.25%, maturity 22.06.2031 (reopening) and 2.50%, maturity 08.03.2036 (reopening). The issuance volume (excluding own holdings) amounts to a total of 359.985 million francs.

A new final report (tram) is available on the website of the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board STSB.

The Federal Council nominated the presidium and members of the expert Commission for Historically Problematic Cultural Heritage at its meeting of 28 January 2026. The commission will advise the Federal Council and Federal Administration on matters related to historically problematic cultural heritage. It can be invoked in the event of disputes and issue non-binding recommendations on artworks from the Nazi period and cultural goods with a colonial background.

Under high pressure, a quantum material can become superconducting at a significantly higher temperature than without pressure. Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI have now investigated this using muons. Their study provides new insights into the emergence of unconventional superconductivity. This could contribute to the search for superconductors that function at temperatures suitable for practical applications: an important prerequisite for the development of energy-efficient technologies.