Swiss Foreign Minister's busy schedule during his tour of four Asian countries

The Swiss Foreign Ministry announced on February 1 that the country's Foreign Minister, Mr. Ignazio Cassis, will make a trip to India, China, South Korea and the Philippines.

Lịch trình dày đặc của Ngoại trưởng Thụy Sỹ trong chuyến công du 4 quốc gia châu Á

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis is scheduled to meet his counterparts in four Asian countries to discuss bilateral cooperation and response to global challenges. (Source: Madote)

The announcement said that during his trip to Asia from February 5-8, Foreign Minister Cassis will meet with his counterparts in the above-mentioned countries, focusing on discussing Switzerland's relations with countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

Secretary Cassis is scheduled to begin his trip by traveling to India, where he will meet with Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar to discuss progress in bilateral economic cooperation, cooperation in education, research and innovation, and resolving the conflict in Ukraine.

The Swiss Foreign Minister will then travel to South Korea and hold his first talks with his host counterpart Cho Tae-yul.

South Korea, along with Switzerland, is a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council starting in 2024. Therefore, the meeting between the two foreign ministers will focus on current global security issues.

Mr. Cassis will then travel to China, where he is expected to hold talks with his counterpart, Wang Yi. This will be the second high-level meeting between the two officials this year, following the recent visit to Bern by Chinese Premier Li Qiang. The talks are aimed at resuming the strategic dialogue mechanism between the two countries' foreign ministers, which has been suspended since 2019 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Finally, Foreign Minister Cassis will travel to the Philippines on February 8 and meet with his counterpart Enrique Manalo. This will be the first visit by a Swiss Federal Councilor to Manila since 2008. The agenda will include economic relations, Bern’s contribution to the development of the Philippines, and the geopolitical situation in the Asia-Pacific.

Source