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| Dear Members of the Swiss Community in Iran |
| Ambassador Leitner wishes you a pleasant reading. ©FDFA |
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A challenging year is approaching its end. None
of us could have imagined what major changes 2020 brought to all of us, first
and foremost through the COVID-19 pandemic, obviously.
When looking back on the past 12 months, I have mixed feelings. On the one
hand, I am sad and disappointed that many of our scheduled activities, such as
our annual Networking Event or the Swiss National Day on 1 August could not
take place, unfortunately. On the other hand,
I am happy that in spite of the pandemic, we succeeded to seize the right moment,
when the case numbers were relatively low, to organize the visit of Federal
Councillor Ignazio Cassis to Iran. I am also happy about the fact that we still
managed to realize many of our cultural activities, even though some of them
took place in a different way.
I wish you and your families and friends happy holidays and all the best for
the New Year. Stay in good health.
Markus Leitner, Swiss Ambassador to Iran
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| Visit of Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis to Iran |
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| Isfahan: Science, Religion, Persian Cultural Heritage |
| Federal Councillor Cassis visits Naghshe Jahan Square in Isfahan. ©FDFA |
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Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis visited Iran from
4th to 7th September, accompanied by a delegation composed of members of Swiss Parliament (National Councillor Tiana Angelina Moser GL / ZH; Senator Thomas Minder -- / SH) and other representatives from the Federal Administration. After the visit of the then President of the Swiss Confederation Federal Councillor Johann Schneider-Ammann to Iran in 2016 and the visit of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to Switzerland in 2018, Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis’ visit marks a 2-year-rhythm of bilateral high-level visits and has again underlined the solid relationship Switzerland and Iran entertain. |
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| On the first day of his official visit to Iran, Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis met with Isfahan's Governor Abbas Rezaei. The courtesy visit provided a first opportunity to exchange on various subjects of mutual interest, such as business, science and culture. |
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| Federal Councillor Cassis met with the staff of the "Swiss desk" from Isfahan University of Technology (IUT). There is a close cooperation between IUT and Swiss universities such as ETH, UZH, and EPFL. The "Swiss desk" is responsible for the promotion of academic collaboration and joint research projects. |
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| 100 Years Exhibition at Negarestan Museum Garden |
| At Negarestan Museum Garden. ©FDFA |
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In Tehran, Federal Councillor Cassis inaugurated an exhibition on the occasion of the "100 Years of Swiss Diplomatic Presence in Iran" jubilee at Negarestan Museum Garden in the presence of high-ranking Iranian representatives, among them Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Sajjadpour and the Mayor of Tehran, Pirouz Hanachi. |
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| Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis honored the good bilateral relationship between Switzerland and Iran, which is based on mutual trust and respect. Switzerland has been diplomatically present in Iran since 100 years, while at the same time the Swiss Embassy has held the interest mandate for the United States for 40 years. Reason to commemorate. And to look forward to the next 100 years. |
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| After cutting the ribbon, the Swiss delegation and selected Iranian guests studied the exhibited historical documents, focusing on various highlights of the 100 years of Swiss diplomatic presence in Iran. The accounts and experiences of Swiss travelers, authors and adventurers such as Annemarie Schwarzenbach, Georg Gerster, Nicolas Bouvier and Walter Mittelholzer substantially influenced the image of how Persia was perceived in Switzerland and enticed many of their audience to travel to Iran themselves. |
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| Official Meetings with Foreign Minister Zarif and President Rouhani |
| Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis meeting with Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. ©FDFA |
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Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif and Federal Councillor Cassis discussed a broad variety of subjects, including regional political issues, economic cooperation, migration, the Swiss Humanitarian Trade Arrangement and human rights. In 2016, the two countries had signed a Road Map, which defines the areas in which both parties agreed to cooperate more closely. Progress has been achieved in almost all areas of cooperation. |
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| Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis meeting with President Hassan Rouhani. ©FDFA |
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When meeting with President Hassan Rouhani, Federal Councillor
Cassis re-iterated the readiness of Switzerland for enhanced cooperation
between the two countries. He thanked Rouhani for the trust, which enables
Switzerland to carry out its foreign interests mandates. Cassis and Rouhani
both emphasized the importance of peace and stability in region. |
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| 40 Years of “Swiss Protecting Power” in Tehran |
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| An Overview of the Main Tasks of the Foreign Interests Section |
| Foreign Interests Section. ©FDFA |
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The protective power mandate for the USA in Iran is one of the discrete tasks of Swiss diplomacy. And even if the FDFA rarely speaks about it publicly, it regularly makes international headlines. Switzerland has been representing US interests in Iran since April 1980 and has established a relationship of trust with both sides as reliable communication channel between Iran and the United States of America. First and foremost, the Swiss and the local employees of the Foreign Interests Section in Tehran handle consular issues such as passport applications, changes in marital status, certifications, transmit court files for the USA in Iran and take care of social security matters. The section also offers consular protection for US citizens (e.g. in the event of child kidnapping or the arrest of US citizens) and investigates cases of missing persons as far as possible. However, no visa applications or questions about immigration (green cards) are dealt with. Switzerland has no mediation mandate between the United States and Iran; rather, it offers a communication channel for diplomatic matters that goes beyond a “postman only” function. Switzerland shaped this role for itself in such a way that it adopted an attitude of comprehensive loyalty and impartiality without identifying with the positions and policies of neither of the two states. The professional and discreet provision of this service is appreciated and facilitates contact to both governments. On the other side of the Atlantic, the Swiss Embassy in Washington fosters relations with the US administration. In daily business, the political team ensures the flow of communication with the responsible entities and the decision-makers in the State Department and the National Security Council. With the conclusion of the JCPOA, the “Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action” between Iran, China, France, Russia, Great Britain, Germany and the USA, hope arose that the Swiss mandate could become obsolete in the foreseeable future. Yet, the mandate to safeguard interests has become even more important after the USA withdrew from the nuclear agreement in May 2018 and the sanctions were tightened again in November 2018. Switzerland and its Embassy in Tehran ensure the transmission of relevant news, memos and selected facilitations, even in times when the two parties prefer not to sit at the same negotiation table. Even if the Swiss communication channel works both ways, and is regularly used, Switzerland does not have a protective power mandate for Iran in the United States. Iran is represented by Pakistan in Washington D.C.
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Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, Ambassador Markus Leitner and Christian Gobet, Head of the Foreign Interests Section. ©FDFA |
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| Business, Trade & Science |
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| Swiss Humanitarian Trade Arrangement (SHTA) |
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Switzerland remains committed to supporting and further developping business relations with Iran. Since the US withdrew from the nuclear agreement in May 2018 and reintroduced unilateral sanctions, the financing of trade and investments has become a particular challenge. Although trade with humanitarian goods, where Swiss companies play a key role, is exempt from US sanctions, financial institutions remain reluctant to process payments in connection with Iran. The few remaining payment channels are expensive, complex and not always reliable. Switzerland has therefore been working hard on the establishment of a secure payment channel enabling exporters based in Switzerland to sell agricultural commodities, food, medicine and medical equipment to Iran, to the benefit of the Iranian population. This is in line with Switzerland’s humanitarian tradition. The Swiss Humanitarian Trade Arrangement (SHTA) came into effect on 27 February 2020, after an initial payment for the shipment of medicine to Iran by a Swiss pharmaceutical company was successfully completed by the end of January. Companies and trading partners based in Switzerland are currently registering with SHTA, while Iranian funds for the payment of the Iranian purchases are transferred to bank accounts in Switzerland. The SHTA is a good example of successful cooperation between the private and the public sector. It was developed in close exchange not only with the relevant authorities in Iran and the US, but also with selected Swiss banks and companies. The SHTA is a powerful and effective tool to boost Swiss trade and investment in Iran while providing Iran with medical products, pharmaceuticals and food items. |
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Switzerland and Iran enjoy close scientific ties. In 2020, the Swiss commitment to broaden and deepen scientific exchange between our two countries was highlighted by the visit of Swiss Foreign Minister, Federal Councillor Cassis, to representatives and academics of Isfahan University of Technology (IUT). IUT hosts one of the two Swiss Desks for Swiss-Iranian scientific cooperation. The other one, the Leading House for Iran and Switzerland, is located at Teheran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS). According to Swiss policy, domestic as well as international scientific cooperation follow a bottom-up approach: Researchers and research institutions enjoy autonomy. Researchers take personal initiative in submitting research proposals and in establishing international networks, without any interference of the Swiss government. Funding is allocated on the basis of competitive principles and qualitative criteria. A good example for such bottom-up oriented research cooperation is the annual awarding of a growing number of Swiss Excellence Scholarships to Iranian academics. Based on the candidates' profiles, the quality of the research projects as well as existing synergies and potential for further research cooperation between our two countries, a specially constituted academic commission assesses the best Iranian candidates for PhD, research and PostDoc projects. To be eligible, each candidate must individually find a Professor in Switzerland willing to supervise the project. Every year, the Embassy of Switzerland to Iran receives a substantial number of excellent applications, and every year a number of Iranian academics travel to Switzerland equipped with an ESKAS scholarship to continue their academic career at a Swiss research institution. The Embassy of Switzerland to Iran will send out application packages for scholarships starting in 2022 from next August on. The application process for a scholarship for 2021 has already been closed. We wish all candidates good luck! |
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As every year, the Embassy of Switzerland participated in this year's edition of the European Film Week, which took place from 7th to 16th November. Due to the Corona pandemic, instead of being screened in the cinemas across Iran, the films were made available online for free to the Iranian audience. The Swiss contribution, Ursula Meier's film "Sister" ("L'Enfant d'en haut"), was extremely well received by the audience. |
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Also the joint literature project "3 Länder, 1 Sprache" (3 countries, 1 language) had to take place in a different, corona-compatible format. Instead of having the authors present to read to a live audience in Tehran and Isfahan, videos of the authors reading from their books were streamed. Swiss author Klaus Merz read from his book "Jakob schläft". The Swiss contribution was a cooperation between the Embassy and the Translation House Looren in Wernetshausen near Zurich, where many Iranian translators worked on various book translations from Swiss authors. |
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| Settimana della Lingua italiana nel mondo |
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On the occasion of the "Settimana della Lingua italiana nel mondo", the Embassy invited an audience composed of staff and students from the Italian School, the Italian Embassy, and Italian speaking friends to a screening of four animated short films by Ticinese director Marcel Barelli at the Swiss Ambassador's Residence. The short films about animal welfare, caring for nature, morality and ethics were an entertaining and educating contribution, perfectly in line with this year's topic "Italian Between Word and Image: Graffiti, Illustrations, Comic Books". |
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| Organizational and Administrative Matters |
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| New Consul at the Swiss Embassy |
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After having completed numerous postings around the globe, our new Consul, Mrs. Fabienne Chappuis, arrived in Tehran in October from France, where she was Head of Chancery at the Consulate General of Switzerland in Lyon. She replaced former Consul Mr. Mauro Gobbo, who left Tehran after 3 years for a new assignment in Berne. We warmly welcome her to the team. |
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| Important Notice |
| Please provide us with your new email address so that the Embassy can continue to inform you. Please also communicate without delay any change in marital status, address or telephone number. Our "Online desk" page shows you how to proceed. Record-keeping of email addresses allows for an optimal connection between Swiss representations and registered compatriots. |
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Die Schweizerische Botschaft wünscht Ihnen frohe Weihnachten und ein schönes und erfolgreiches 2021!
L’Ambassade de Suisse vous souhaite un joyeux Noël et une très belle année 2021!
L’Ambasciata Svizzera vi augura un buon Natale e un felice 2021, pieno di successi e di soddisfazione!
L’Ambassada Svizra giavischein a Vus in bi nadal et in bien niev onn 2021!
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| Please note that the Embassy will be closed on the following days: |
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24.12.2020, 25.12.2020, 26.12.2020, 31.12.2020
01.01.2021, 02.01.2021, 21.03.2021, 22.03.2021
01.04.2021, 04.04.2021, 05.04.2021, 13.05.2021
23.05.2021, 19.08.2021, 27.09.2021, 07.10.2021 |
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