That’s what federal legislators do at the WEF

The World Economic Forum (WEF) offers members of the Swiss state government the opportunity to meet many other heads of state, ministers and other decision makers at short notice and without having to travel themselves. According to the Federal Chancellery, at least 50 bilateral meetings are scheduled for this year’s Davos. Look who says he met who.

Federal President Alain Berset (50) has a fixed appointment at the WEF: he will open the event on Tuesday along with WEF founder Klaus Schwab (84). He will also meet with UN Secretary-General António Guterres in Davos together with Viola Amherd (60), Vice-President of the Federal Council. New talks were arranged with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Presidents of Ecuador and Colombia Guillermo Lasso and Gustavo Petro.

Berset from Europe will meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda, Lithuanian Presidents Gitanas Nauseda, Latvian Egils Levits and Moldovan Maia Sandu, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin and Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili. Berset will also participate in various DEF panel events.

Federal Council Vice-President and Defense Minister Federal Council Member Viola Amherd will meet with her Dutch counterpart Kajsa Ollongren for bilateral talks. He and Federal Councilor Guy Parmelin (63) will also meet with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti. Federal Councilor Amherd focuses on the current security policy situation in northern Kosovo and the deployment of Switzerland as part of Swisscoy. In addition, the Minister of National Defense will visit the army members of an infantry battalion serving in the Davos region to ensure security at the event.

Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis (60) put the continuation of Switzerland’s commitment to Ukraine’s rebuilding at the center of his discussions at the WEF annual meeting. For this purpose, together with representatives from Switzerland, England and Ukraine, the Ukraine Rescue Conference organizes the handover event “From Lugano to London”.

Federal Councilor Cassis will also take part in events addressing the war in Ukraine and its global ramifications. In addition, relations with the EU and European countries are also on this year’s agenda. Foreign Minister Cassis will hold talks with representatives of the Ukrainian government, as well as his counterparts from the Netherlands, Austria, Sweden and Spain, among others.

Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter (58) will exchange views with the finance ministers of many European countries (Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Austria, Luxembourg) and is planning a meeting with EU Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni. He will also meet with IMF Director-General Kristalina Georgieva and OECD Secretary General Mathias Cormann, Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Liu He, and the finance ministers of Brazil and Qatar.

Economy Minister Guy Parmelin will use the annual meeting in Davos to support various thematic priorities in business, trade, research and innovation. Together with Federal Council Member Albert Rösti (55), he will meet with German Vice-Chancellor and Federal Minister of Economy and Climate Protection Robert Habeck ahead of the annual meeting on Monday, January 16, 2023.

In addition to meeting with Kosovo Prime Minister Kurti, bilateral meetings are also planned with US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, Vietnam Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha, Ukrainian Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko, Saudi Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih, Czech Minister of Trade and Industry. Jozef Síkela and Odile Renaud-Basso, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

An informal meeting of World Trade Organization (WTO) ministers will also take place on the fringes of the WEF. By invitation and chaired by Federal Council Member Parmelin, approximately 30 WTO members will discuss the objectives of the next regular WTO Ministerial Conference, which will take place in February 2024 in the United Arab Emirates.

The new Minister of Environment and Energy, Albert Rösti, will discuss with Habeck, Germany’s Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, issues related to energy supply as a result of gas and power cuts. Talks between Federal Council Member Rösti and international players in the energy and telecommunications sectors are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.

On Wednesday, Bundestag Rösti will open a panel on energy infrastructure and decarbonisation, together with Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency IEA. The event at the WEF is organized by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE), the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) and ETH Zurich.

New Justice Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider (59) will not travel to the WEF. While others are in Davos, it is necessary to make sure that everything is going well in Bern.