News

The 19th round of the bilateral human rights dialogue between Switzerland and China took place on 19 and 20 October 2026 in Switzerland. The delegations held an open and critical discussion on the human rights situation in both countries and on current international challenges. Key areas of focus included the protection of minorities and the impact of artificial intelligence on human rights.

Switzerland and the United Nations are organising an international meeting in Geneva on 21 October 2026 focusing on peace efforts in Sudan. This sixth consultative meeting brings together states and international organisations working to find a solution to the conflict. As the humanitarian crisis continues to worsen, the meeting aims to strengthen the coordination of diplomatic initiatives, promote de-escalation and support an inclusive political process.

On 19 October 2026, the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER) amended Annex 2 of the Ordinance on measures against the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Three individuals and one entity have been removed from Annex 2 as they are already listed in Annex 1. The measures come into force on 20 October 2026 at 11 p.m.

On 22 October 2026, Swissmint will launch the “125 years of the Aero Club of Switzerland” 20-franc silver coin. It is the second coin in the three-part “Swiss Aviation” series and commemorates the anniversary of the Aero Club of Switzerland (AeCS).

Swissmint is continuing its four-part “Four seasons” silver coin series with the “Four seasons – Winter” special coin. Following the launch of the “Summer” special coin in June 2026, the second silver coin in the series will be released on 22 October 2026, showcasing the cold season.

The Federal Office of Information Technology, Systems and Telecommunication (FOITT) published the invitation to tender for the Swiss Government Cloud (SGC) on the SIMAP procurement platform on 20 October 2026. The Federal Administration's current cloud infrastructure is reaching its limits and can no longer meet the demands of digitalisation. The new cloud infrastructure is intended to form a basis for the digital transformation of the administration and combine innovative cloud services with high security standards.

In 2025, 13.9% of people in employment in Switzerland were self-employed in their main occupation (including employees who owned their own companies). Self-employed people were, on average, eight years older than employees. Their working conditions were characterised by longer weekly working hours and working hours that encroached more on weekends. These are some of the results from ‘Self-Employment in Switzerland, 2025’, a Federal Statistical Office (FSO) publication.

On 19 October 2026, Mr Cassis received the Colombian foreign minister, Omar Bula, for a working meeting in Bern. Discussions focused on bilateral relations, Swiss support to Colombia following the earthquake in August 2026, as well as peace and security in the country and wider region. Prior to this, Mr Bula met with Ms Baume-Schneider to sign a bilateral social security agreement and discuss cultural cooperation between the two countries.

In solids, different types of excitations can affect each other. Using a new experimental technique at the X-ray free-electron laser SwissFEL, a team at Paul Scherrer Institute PSI has now been able to uncover the interplay between electronic, magnetic, and lattice excitations. This understanding is important for learning how spin excitations can be controlled for future information technology. The results have been published in the journal Nature Communications.

On 19 October 2026, the Taskforce Drones will host the first edition of the Swiss Drone Security Forum 2026. The event will take place at the Thun military training area and will bring together more than 300 stakeholders from Swiss research, the armed forces, the administration, authorities, politics and industry. The aim of the joint exchange during the Security Forum will be to strengthen Switzerland’s drone ecosystem.

During his official visit to Hanoi on Saturday, 17 October, President Guy Parmelin was welcomed by President Tô Lâm and Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng. The discussions focused particularly on bilateral relations between Switzerland and Vietnam, with agreements reached in several policy areas. On Sunday, 18 October, the free trade agreement between the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) member states and Vietnam will also be signed.

Le conseiller fédéral Ignazio Cassis s’est rendu le 16 octobre 2026 à Tbilissi, où il a rencontré la ministre géorgienne des affaires étrangères Maka Botchorishvili et le Premier ministre Irakli Kobakhidze. Au cœur des échanges : la sécurité régionale, les efforts pour surmonter les conséquences de la guerre de 2008 et le rôle de l’OSCE, que la Suisse préside cette année. Les discussions ont également porté sur les mandats de puissance protectrice exercés par la Suisse et les perspectives de renforcement des relations bilatérales.