Switzerland Today

Dear Swiss Abroad,

Hello from Bern! I would give my usual “sunny regards” but the strong winds have caused the annual tradition of the burning of the Böögg to be cancelled this year. 

In what is a SWI swissinfo.ch tradition, we take stock of how the Swiss economy is faring in the first quarter of 2024 with sector-by-sector highlights.

Also in today’s briefing, some space news! Swiss Economics Minister Guy Parmelin signed the Artemis Accords at NASA’s headquarters in the US capital of Washington, D.C. on Monday. We look at an interview with Switzerland’s second ever astronaut, Marco Sieber.

This April marks 30 years since the Rwandan genocide. Join host Imogen Foulkes on the Inside Geneva podcast, as she talks to those who witnessed it.

All this in today’s briefing. But first let’s take a look at the news.

A man from the fire brigade carries away a fire hose in front of the “Böögg” during the Sechselaeuten place in Zurich, Switzerland, on April 15, 2024. The Sechselaeuten (ringing of the six o’clock bells) is a traditional end of winter festival with a parade of guilds in historical uniforms on horseback and the burning of the Böögg, a symbolic snowman, at 6pm. The faster the Böögg explodes, the hotter the summer will be according to traditional weather rules KEYSTONE/© KEYSTONE / ENNIO LEANZA

Swiss Economics Minister Guy Parmelin (right) and NASA Administrator Bill Nelson (left) shake hands during the Switzerland Artemis Accords signing ceremony, at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) headquarters in Washington, D.C., on April 15, 2024. Switzerland became the 37th country to sign the Artemis Accords. KEYSTONE

In the news: Switzerland signs the Artemis Accords at NASA’s headquarters, Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) is resuming flights to and from Tel Aviv and the historic international military ski mountaineering race, the Patrouille des Glaciers, has cancelled the first race starts.

• Swiss Universities undertake a research study into new forms of democracy: from November, the Universities of Zurich and Geneva will experiment with new forms of democracy through a ‘Citizen Council 2025’ project.
• In 2023 the Swiss Climate Foundation granted CHF2.4 million ($2.63 million) to 17 innovation projects, a funding increase of around half a million francs to the same number of projects as compared to 2022.
• Swiss Economics Minister Guy Parmelin signed the Artemis Accords at NASA’s headquarters in the US capital of Washington, D.C. on Monday.
• Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) is resuming flights to and from Tel Aviv as of Tuesday. Following a thorough analysis of the situation, it has been concluded that safe operations can be ensured, the airline said.
• Swiss Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter has said estimates that banking giant UBS will need a further $15-25 billion (CHF13.7-23 billion) in capital as part of government proposals are accurate. 
• The first race starts of the ‘Patrouille des Glaciers’ in Valais have been cancelled due to weather conditions which organisers said would endanger the safety of participants and staff. Almost 4,900 participants had registered for the legendary race across Valais’ snow-covered peaks. The Patrouille des Glaciers or ‘glacier patrol race’ is a historic international military ski mountaineering race also open to civilian elite and amateur competitors.
• At a donor conference in Geneva on Tuesday, the UN campaigned for aid for Ethiopia. Less than 5% of the $3.24 billion (CHF2.96 billion) needed for this year has been raised so far, the UN emergency aid office OCHA reported.
• The ‘Pfuusbus’, an emergency shelter for homeless people, was busier last year than ever before.

KEYSTONE/© KEYSTONE / URS FLUEELER

Q1/2024 check-up: how the Swiss economy is faring

Inflation is nearly under control but some manufacturers are down in the dumps: SWI swissinfo.ch journalists Samuel Jaberg and Jessica Davis Plüss review the Swiss economy sector-by-sector.

Seven take-aways:

1) Inflation slows but growth remains sluggish: experts at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) are still forecasting weak Swiss growth for 2024, with gross domestic product expected to rise by 1.1%.

2) A return to normal for Swiss watchmakers: after more than two years of uninterrupted growth, Swiss watch exports saw their first significant downturn in February (-3.8% year-on-year). “We have entered a normalisation phase,” said Jean-Philippe Bertschy, a watch expert at the Swiss bank Vontobel.

3) Machinery industry in the doldrums: the Swiss machinery, electrical equipment and metals (MEM) industry is going through a rough patch triggered by the economic difficulties facing Switzerland’s main trading partners, in particular Germany and China. In 2023, businesses in this sector, which employs more than 325,000 people in Switzerland, saw a slight decrease in sales (-0.8%) and a sharp drop in new orders (-8.4%).

4) A bright winter for Swiss tourism: in early April, Switzerland Tourism declared this past winter ski season an outstanding success. Up to the end of March, Swiss ski resorts had recorded a 5% increase in visitor numbers compared to the previous year. The trend was particularly positive in Ticino (+43%).

5) Swiss pharma reaps the rewards of restructuring: Novartis posted a 10% increase in sales in constant currencies for 2023, reaching $45 billion (CHF41 billion) and a net income of $8.6 billion. Sandoz sales last year were up by 7%, to $9.6 billion. In the fourth quarter alone, sales increased by 10%. 

6) Food giants feel the pinch of higher prices:   Vevey-based food and beverage giant Nestlé posted sales figures showing a drop of 1.5% to CHF93 billion in 2023, under the impact of the strong franc and changing consumer habits. In March, cocoa prices surpassed $10,000 (CHF9,058) per tonne on the futures market, an all-time record.

7) Making Swiss banking safer: the government recently released a list of 22 recommendations. “What happened at Credit Suisse must not be allowed to happen again,” said Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter. Parliament will now debate the proposals. These include enshrining corporate responsibility in the Swiss legal code, allowing the financial regulator to issue fines, and expanding the capacity of the state and central bank to offer emergency liquidity. The Swiss labour force must absorb large numbers of bank workers as some 3,000 UBS employees face the prospect of redundancy later this year.

KEYSTONE

Switzerland signs international space agreement

Swiss Economics Minister Guy Parmelin signed the Artemis Accords at NASA’s headquarters in the US capital of Washington, D.C. on Monday. At the signing, Parmelin said that Switzerland had a lot to offer in the realm of space travel: excellent scientists, highly innovative and competitive companies, a new space policy, and soon the country’s first space law.

Together with seven other nations, the US signed the Artemis Accords in 2020. As numerous countries and private companies carry out missions and operations around the moon, common principles are required for the civilian exploration and utilisation of space.

Switzerland is the 37th nation to sign the non-binding treaty. Space-travelling nations China and Russia are not members of the agreement, which was drawn up in coordination with the UN Outer Space Treaty.

Swiss astronaut Marco Sieber, who has recently successfully completed his one-year basic astronaut training at the European Space Agency (ESA), told Swiss public television, SRF that, “the future looks good for young astronauts”.

Sieber, who was in attendance at the signing ceremony in Washington D.C., said that Switzerland’s involvement and cooperation in science and research is an important step and a positive sign of cooperation.

Watch our interview with Swiss astronaut Marco Sieber:

swissinfo.ch

Inside Geneva: witnessing the Rwandan genocide and trying to stop it

This April marks 30 years since the Rwandan genocide.

Why was it not prevented? Has the concept of “responsibility to protect” worked?

Gareth Evans, former Australian foreign minister, talks to Inside Geneva podcast host Imogen Foulkes about how “the Rwanda situation in 1994 really was a wake-up call to the world. The paralysis of the UN system, the paralysis of all the major players to respond to what was pretty clearly a massive genocidal operation”.

Have people become disillusioned? “I would say actually that we went from perhaps a hope, an illusion that something would be done to actually not expecting anything at all now,” says Christopher Stokes, from Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders).

Listen to the full podcast episode on Apple PodcastsExternal link, SpotifyExternal link, or wherever you get your podcasts.