Switzerland offers to host OSCE conference in Lugano
The Swiss foreign ministry has proposed to hold the OSCE Ministerial Conference in Lugano in December 2026. Four years after the first Ukraine Recovery Conference, the city in Italian-speaking Switzerland could once again be hosting an international meeting.
Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis confirmed the plan to hold the conference in Lugano at a joint meeting with the Ticino government in Mezzana near Chiasso. Cassis and the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) announced that the experience gained with the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) could be utilised.
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Both the cantonal authorities and the city of Lugano had been consulted, the press release continued. The meeting would make it possible to “publicise Italian-speaking Switzerland” and “draw attention to the peaceful coexistence of different cultures and languages in Switzerland”, Cassis was quoted as saying. He added: “In view of the current geopolitical situation, this is an important sign.”
The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), based in Vienna, is the world’s largest regional security organisation. It brings together 57 participating states, including the US and Russia. The aims of the OSCE are to secure peace and post-conflict reconstruction. Switzerland has been a member of the OSCE since it was founded in 1975 and will assume the chairmanship for the third time in 2026 after 1996 and 2014.
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Switzerland to chair the OSCE for third time in 2026
Once a year, usually in December, the chairing country organises the ministerial conference. On Wednesday, the Swiss government approved an additional budget of CHF5.25 million for the event in Lugano.
Adapted from German by DeepL/ac
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