A picture for the history books: UN Secretary General Kofi Annan (middle) shakes hands on September 10, 2002 with the then Swiss president Kaspar Villiger (left) and foreign minister Joseph Deiss.
(Keystone)
Until September 10, 2002, what did Switzerland have in common with the Vatican and East Timor?
They were not members of the UN, and shared observer status at proceedings of the world body at its New York headquarters.
We dipped into the archives to see how swissinfo.ch covered the news of September 10, 2002 when the UN General Assembly welcomed Switzerland to the club. And we highlight our analysis of Swiss membership ten years on.
Switzerland intends to speak its mind at the United Nations, according to Swiss President Kaspar Villiger. Villiger told the UN General Assembly ...
TEN YEARS LATER
In 2012, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon spoke to the Swiss parliament in Bern to mark the 10th anniversary, calling Switzerland the 'world's watchmakers'.
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