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Chancellor Ignazio Cassis will travel to the Middle East from Easter Saturday until next Thursday. This is Cassis’s fourth trip to the region. The visits are related to the implementation of the Mena Strategy 2021-2024, the Federal Council’s strategy for the Middle East and North Africa region.
The program includes visits to Iraq, Oman and Lebanon, as the Federal Department of Foreign Relations announced on Thursday. Cassis had previously visited Iran, Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the United Arab Emirates and Algeria.
First Swiss Federal Council since 1979
Cassis apparently landed well: shortly after landing in Iraq, he tweeted a video of his arrival.
Talks in Iraq, Oman and Lebanon focus on promoting dialogue, reducing regional tensions, sustainable development and humanitarian engagement, while the FDFA continues. These priorities were established in Mena’s strategy.
The trip to Iraq is the first visit by a Federal Council since 1979. A memorandum of understanding will be signed in Baghdad for the start of bilateral political consultations, as the communication continues.
Visit to the hospital
Switzerland strives for closer cooperation with Oman to promote dialogue and conflict resolution in the region. In Lebanon, Cassis will finally visit a hospital that was destroyed by the devastating explosion in Beirut in August 2020 and rebuilt with the help of Switzerland.
Cassis is accompanied on the trip by the Council of States Damian Müller (FDP / LU), Chairman of the Foreign Policy Commission of the Council of States (APK-S) and Council of States Andrea Gmür-Schönenberger (CVP / LU), member of the APK-S. (SDA)
Published: 04/03/2021, 4:46 pm
Last Updated: April 3, 2021, 9:38 pm
