Swiss boost WEF presence

The House of Switzerland in Davos © Keystone / Laurent Gillieron

From 2020, Switzerland’s presence at the World Economic Forum in Davos will be centered on the House of Switzerland, which will serve as a communication and networking platform for the official delegation.

The Federal Council, Switzerland’s governing body, said on Friday that it had taken the decision following the positive results of the pilot project carried out at this year’s WEF. The HoS will continue to be located in the Valliant Arena, just a few minutes’ walk from the WEF.

#SwissgovernmentExternal link decided to institutionalise the current @HofSwitzerlandExternal link at the @wefExternal link in Davos. Under the aegis of Presence Switzerland, it will be established in the stadium of @HCDavos_offExternal link as a communication/networking platform for the 🇨🇭delegation https://t.co/3KTFVi5BTZExternal link (BK) pic.twitter.com/PzF0pAd0m8External link

— André Simonazzi (@BR_Sprecher) June 14, 2019External link

The HoS is expected to host meetings involving ministers, the Swiss delegation and various international actors, as well as hold events with people from business, politics and academia and official ministerial press conferences. The cost of the project is CHF350,000 ($350,280).

During the WEF in January this year, the HoS hosted, among others, bilateral working meetings with three foreign ministers and a signing ceremony.

As Switzerland is the host state of the WEF, the Davos Congress Centre also has a Swiss Lounge reserved for the exclusive use of the Swiss President for bilateral meetings and discussions, a statement addedExternal link.

Next year is the 50^th anniversary of the WEF in the Swiss resort.