Swiss foreign minister wraps up visit to East Africa

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis. KEYSTONE

Ignazio Cassis was in Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti this week to discuss the regional security situation and to reinforce Swiss cooperation with the region.

In Kenya, Cassis announced a desire to expand bilateral relations, particularly in the areas of science, double taxation and climate protection, the Swiss foreign ministry said on Thursday.

Earlier in the week, together with his Ethiopian counterpart Taye Atske Selassie, Cassis laid the symbolic foundation stone for the construction of a new Swiss embassy in Addis Ababa.

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According to the foreign ministry, the modernisation of its embassy network is a chance to expand cooperation between Switzerland and Africa. “This project clearly shows the importance Switzerland attaches to the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa,” said Cassis at the inauguration on Tuesday.  

The trip also provided important insights for Switzerland’s Sub-Saharan Africa strategy, which is currently being drafted, the foreign ministry wrote. This strategy will replace the government’s first Sub-Saharan Africa Strategy for the 2021-2024 period, which envisaged an expansion of Swiss cooperation with African partners.  

Conflicts and humanitarian aid  

According to the foreign ministry, Cassis’ visit to Nairobi on Thursday marked the official end of his East Africa trip. The minister had previously visited Ethiopia and Djibouti. Talks between Cassis and the presidents and foreign ministers of the three countries as well as the chair of the African Union Commission focused on global and regional security issues. According to the foreign ministry, these issues are also important for Switzerland due to its current seat on the UN Security Council.  

In his talks, Cassis emphasised the importance of finding peaceful solutions to regional and global conflicts. With regard to the war in Ukraine, possible steps towards a peace conference in Switzerland were discussed. The situation in the Middle East was also a topic.  

According to the foreign ministry, the conflict in Sudan, which has been ongoing for almost a year, was also an important theme of discussion. Switzerland supports the peace efforts being made there, it said.

Adapted from German by DeepL/kc

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