News

The Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) is a key instrument to ensure that humanitarian aid is efficient, anticipatory and localised. The fund is run by the Geneva-based International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is providing the DREF with CHF 6 million for the 2025-26 period.

The UN security council 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.

In October 2025 the consumer sentiment index stood at –37 points. This is the same as in October 2024. The following sub-index is lower than in October 2024: economic outlook. The following sub-indices are higher than a year ago: past financial situation, financial outlook and moment to make major purchases.

National Armaments Director Urs Loher held work discussions on the ongoing procurement project ADS 15 with representatives from the company Elbit Systems Ltd.

Swiss battery start-up BTRY AG has raised $ 5.7 million in an oversubscribed seed round. The funds will accelerate the industrialization of its ultra-thin solid-state batteries – a new category of energy storage combining fast charging, extreme temperature stability, and intrinsic safety in one of the world’s thinnest formats. They power next-generation devices such as connected labels, wireless sensors, and wearables – applications where conventional batteries could not fit or endure.

Address by Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) – Check against delivery

At its meeting on 5 November, the Federal Council approved Switzerland's accession to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Netherlands and Germany on the procurement of and ongoing support for electronic warfare equipment, known as the Sawfish MoU. This allows Switzerland to participate in joint procurements and benefit from an exchange of information with the other two countries and from the experience they have gained in relation to electronic warfare.

At its meeting on 5 November 2025, the FDFA informed the Federal Council of the short-term measures adopted to provide support to the US peace plan for the Middle East. Switzerland is providing technical expertise in the areas of international humanitarian law, disarmament and demining. It will be stepping up its humanitarian aid to Gaza, and also aims to strengthen the Palestinian Authority. To help implement these measures, the FDFA is releasing an additional CHF 20 million in funding.

During its meeting on 5 November 2025, the Federal Council adopted the dispatch on the double taxation agreement (DTA) with Zimbabwe. The agreement will create legal certainty for the further development of bilateral economic relations and tax cooperation between the two countries.

Switzerland will become drier and hotter, experience less snow and face heavier rainfall in the future. Those are the conclusions reached by climate researchers from its Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology (MeteoSwiss) and ETH Zurich. On 4 November 2025, at an event attended by Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, they presented the new climate scenarios for Switzerland, which form the basis for the Federal Council's strategy on adaptation to climate change.

The Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland (MROS) at the Federal Office of Police (fedpol) held the 3rd Crypto Symposium on 3 November in Zug. Experts from Switzerland and abroad discussed the latest developments and challenges associated with virtual assets in the context of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing efforts.

In Basel on Monday, 3 November 2025, State Secretary Alexandre Fasel attended the ceremony to mark the 50th anniversary of the Franco-German-Swiss Intergovernmental Commission for the promotion of cross-border cooperation in the Upper-Rhine region. He paid tribute to the long-standing and successful cooperation in the three-country region as a model of active cross-border partnership in Europe.