Swiss defence minister reaffirms military cooperation with neighbours

Federal Councillor Pfister reaffirms military cooperation with neighbours Keystone-SDA

On his first trip abroad in government, Defence Minister Martin Pfister visited the Swiss troops taking part in a major exercise in Austria. In this context, he emphasised the importance of cooperation with neighbouring countries.

The Trias troop trial with Swiss, German and Austrian soldiers is necessary to improve the defence readiness of the respective armies, said Pfister in an interview with the Keystone-SDA news agency on Thursday at the training ground in Allentsteig, Austria. “Cooperation between the Swiss Armed Forces and their neighbours is of central importance,” he stated.

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The three countries benefit from each other’s expertise, Pfister added. “We must be able to work together in the event of a conflict.”

The Swiss Armed Forces cannot solve many issues autonomously. That is why it is important to practise interoperability.

‘It is necessary to invest’

The fact that the first foreign trip of a new government minister is to Austria is a long-standing tradition, said Pfister. The exchange with Switzerland’s neutral neighbour was also fitting in terms of content, as both countries were in the process of developing new security policy strategies.

Austrian Defence Minister Klaudia Tanner said that her country had just adopted the highest defence budget in history. “It is necessary to invest.”

It is important for Switzerland and Austria to increasingly focus their armies on military national defence. “In order to be able to defend our common neutrality, it is also necessary to practise together,” Tanner said.

Exercise overshadowed by accident

Since April 14 and until May 9, members of the Swiss Armed Forces have been training together with units from the Austrian and German armies at the Allentsteig military training area, around 100 kilometres north-west of Vienna. Around a thousand members of the Swiss Armed Forces are completing this refresher course abroad.

The exercise was overshadowed by an accident: during an exercise last Wednesday night, a Swiss soldier was run over by a military vehicle and seriously injured. Pfister wished the 19-year-old a speedy recovery. Such accidents must be avoided, he said. “But when so many people are training in such conditions, you can never completely rule it out.”

According to the defence ministry, the young soldier will be brought to Switzerland as soon as his condition allows. The military tribunal, which is also on site at the foreign training centre, has begun an investigation.

Adapted from German by DeepL/ac

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