News

Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Iceland, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Peru, Switzerland, Ukraine and Uruguay established a Statement on a Dialogue on Emerging Agricultural Trade Issues at the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) of the World Trade Organization in Yaoundé, Cameroon. The Declaration establishes a forum that is expected to build trust and foster mutual understanding of the challenges and opportunities associated with sustainable agriculture, taking into account the diverse realities and approaches of WTO Members. It sends a strong signal that Members are willing to find new ways of engaging on issues of common concern.

The UN sanctions committee has amended the list of sanctioned individuals, companies and organizations. The SESAM database has been updated accordingly. On 4 March 2016 the Federal Council has adopted the Ordinance on the automatic application of the UN Security Council’s sanctions lists. Hence, the amendments of the UN Security Council’s sanctions lists enter into force in Switzerland without delay.

The Federal Council has elected Béatrice Fink Düring and Nicola Alessandro Mona to the Institute Council of the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI) with effect from 1 April. Nicola Mona, a citizen of Ticino, succeeds Vincenza Trivigno, who stepped down at the end of 2025 after the Federal Council elected her as the Executive Director of Swissmedic with effect from January 2026. Béatrice Fink Düring will take over from Oliver Gassmann, who left the Institute Council at the same time.

GEMS is an open-source software platform that makes chemical and thermodynamic processes in complex systems computable – processes that take thousands of years in nature can be simulated in seconds. A new national consortium will ensure that the software created at PSI is developed and maintained in the long term and jointly funded.

Switzerland has officially renewed its delegation to the Council of Europe's Congress of Local and Regional Authorities (CLRAE) for the period 2026–31. The appointments will ensure Switzerland maintains its presence at the CLRAE's 50th session, scheduled for the end of March 2026.

On 31 March, Martina Hirayama, State Secretary for Education, Research and Innovation, attended the informal meeting of EU research ministers. The meeting was held online under the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Participants exchanged views on how Europe can leverage its scientific excellence to bring economic added value and achieve global competitiveness.

By the time micrometer-sized blood clots are detected, it may already be too late. Empa researcher Peter Nirmalraj and his team are investigating the occurrence and composition of these tiny blood clots, aiming to assess medication efficacy and individual patient risk more accurately.

At the end of 2025, 838 600 Swiss citizens lived abroad. Their numbers have continued to grow since 2024 (+11 900 people or +1.4%). Almost half of Swiss abroad reside in a country bordering Switzerland. These are some of the results of the Statistics on the Swiss Abroad published by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

The 14th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC14) came to a close in Yaoundé, Cameroon early on Monday morning. The difficult situation in international trade dominated the discussions; no fundamental policy decisions were taken regarding the ongoing reform work. However, some WTO members decided to implement the negotiated agreement on e-commerce. The Swiss delegation was headed by State Secretary Helene Budliger Artieda, Director of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).

The semi-annual report published today by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) outlines the relevant incidents and developments relating to cyberthreats against Switzerland and internationally in the second half of 2025. Alongside voluntary reports of cyber incidents, the report presents reportable cyberattacks against critical infrastructure for the first time. Such attacks have been mandatory reporting requirements since 1 April 2025. Although the number of voluntary reports has remained stable at a high level, the nature of these incidents is evolving and becoming more targeted. Effective protection requires close cooperation between government, businesses and society at both national and international levels.

The Federal Tax Administration has updated the course listings and bonus shares 2025.

The UN sanctions committee has amended the list of sanctioned individuals, companies and organizations. The SESAM database has been updated accordingly. On 4 March 2016 the Federal Council has adopted the Ordinance on the automatic application of the UN Security Council’s sanctions lists. Hence, the amendments of the UN Security Council’s sanctions lists enter into force in Switzerland without delay.