The Diplomat
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, received yesterday at the Ministry’s headquarters his Swiss counterpart, Ignazio Cassis, with whom he discussed, among other issues, Switzerland’s rapprochement with the EU during the Spanish Presidency and the engagement with Ukraine in the framework of the very recent Swiss presidency of the UN Security Council.
“Fruitful exchange with my counterpart from Spain, José Manuel Albares, before the start of the Spanish EU Presidency,” Cassis stated via his official Twitter account. “On the agenda: the strong ties between our two countries, the relations between Switzerland and the EU and our engagement with Ukraine, particularly in the UN Security Council,” he added.
“Productive meeting with my counterpart from Switzerland, Ignazio Cassis,” Albares wrote via the same social network. “We reviewed our excellent bilateral relations and EU-Switzerland relations during the Spanish Presidency to bring Switzerland even closer to the European Union,” he added.
As highlighted by the Swiss government, Cassis’ trip came “shortly before Spain takes over the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU on July 1, 2023.” “As such, it is an important partner for Switzerland in the next stages of its relations with the EU,” continued the Swiss Foreign Ministry, which recalled that “Spain will hold numerous ministerial meetings during its EU presidency, which Switzerland is traditionally invited to attend.”
Likewise, the Swiss minister presented to his Spanish counterpart his country’s commitment to the war in Ukraine and the balance of his recent term at the head of the UN Security Council, which took place last May. “Switzerland and Spain hold similar positions and collaborate closely in multilateral forums,” he assured.
According to Switzerland, bilateral relations between the two countries “are very good and intense in the cultural, economic and scientific fields”. Some 92,000 Spaniards live in Switzerland (not counting dual nationality) and 26,000 Swiss live in Spain. Switzerland is also the eighth-largest investor in Spain. This visit was also an opportunity for Cassis to discuss “with his counterpart the political situation in Spain, where early general elections have been announced for July 23,” he concluded.
