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Azerbaijan-Switzerland
A German version of "Nagorno Karabakh: History read through sources" book written by the academician Ramiz Mehdiyev has been published by the “Publishing Partners” of Switzerland.
Brief information on the bilateral cooperation between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Swiss Confederation.
Switzerland recognized independence of Azerbaijan on 23 December 1991.
Diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Switzerland were established on 21 January 1992.
On January 2000, Mr. H. Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan paid a working visit to Switzerland to take part in the Annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. At the sidelines of the Annual meeting in Davos, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan met with Mr. A. Ogi, President of the Swiss Confederation and Mr. K. Villiger, Head of the Federal Department of Finance of Switzerland.
27 October 2000, Ambassador W. Fecher presented his credentials to President Heydar Aliyev accrediting him as Ambassador of Switzerland to Azerbaijan.
Since September 2005, Embassy of Azerbaijan to Switzerland started functioning in Bern.
29-30 October 2000, Mr. K. Villiger, Head of the Federal Department of Finance of Switzerland, visited Azerbaijan. During his visit to Azerbaijan, Head of the Federal Department of Finance of Switzerland met Mr. Heydar Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan and was received by Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, Chairman of the State Property Minister and Chairman of the National Bank of Azerbaijan.
On 2 February 2002, Mr. H. Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan met with Mr. K. Villiger, President of the Swiss Confederation at the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
On 2-3 May 2002, Mr. V. Guliyev, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan met with Mr. F. Daniken, State Secretary of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of the Swiss Confederation at the sidelines Council of Europe Council of Ministers’ meeting in Vilnius.
On 7 May 2003, Mr. V. Guliyev, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan met with Mr. D. Size, State Secretary for Economic Affairs of the Swiss Confederation.
On 15 November 2002, Mr. K. Khalafov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan paid a visit to Switzerland for holding consultations with the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of the Swiss Confederation.
On 8-10 April 2004, the delegation of Switzerland headed by Mr. A. Guidetti, Political Director at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland visited Azerbaijan for holding bilateral consultations with Azerbaijan. During the visit, he met with Mr. E. Mammadyarov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, his deputy Mr. K. Khalafov and Mr. N. Mammadov, Chief of International Relations Division at the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan.
On 5 October 2004, Ambassador E. Amirbayov presented his credentials to President Joseph Deiss accrediting him as Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Switzerland.
On March 2005, Mr. M. Mammad-Guliyev, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan visited Bern and discussed matters related to the bilateral cooperation with Mr. M. Ambühl, State Secretary of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland.
On 23-25 October 2005, the Swiss delegation led by the political director of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs Mr. J-J. de Dardel paid a visit to Azerbaijan for holding bilateral consultations.
On 18 January 2006, Mr. K. Khalafov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan held a meeting with Mr. M. Ambühl, State Secretary of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland.
On 22-24 February 2006, Mrs. M. Calmy-Rey, Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland paid an official visit to Azerbaijan and met with the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Prime Minister, Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Economic Development and Taxes.
On 15 March 2006, 2nd meeting of the Azerbaijan-Switzerland Joint Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation was held in Bern.
On 21 June 2006, Mr. M. Mammad-Guliyev, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan paid a visit to Bern and met with Mr. M. Ambühl, State Secretary of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland and Mr. Walter Fust, Director of the Swiss Development and Cooperation Agency (SDC).
On 22 September 2006, Mr. R. Hasanov, Chairman of the State Committee on Standardization, Metrology and Patent of the Republic of Azerbaijan visited Switzerland and hold discussions at various Swiss governmental agencies.
On 24-28 January 2007, Mr. İlham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan paid a working visit to Switzerland to take part in the Annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. At the sidelines of the Annual meeting in Davos, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan met with Mrs. M. Calmy-Rey, President of the Swiss Confederation.
On 11-17 February 2007, Mr. A. Valiyev, Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Azerbaijan, paid an official visit to Switzerland. During his trip to Azerbaijan, Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Azerbaijan hold meetings at the Swiss Federal Office of Culture, cultural departments of Basel, Bern and Fribourg cantons.
On 28 April 2007, Mr. M. Panakhov, Deputy Minister of Transport of Azerbaijan visited Switzerland and hold consultations with M. Friedli, Director of the Federal Office of Transport of Switzerland.
On 12-14 July 2007, Mr. Elchin Guliyev, Chairman of the State Border Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan paid a visit to Switzerland to discuss the matters of mutual interest between the border authorities of both countries.
On 8-9 October 2007, Mr. Moritz Leunberger, Head of the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications of the Swiss Confederation paid an official visit to Azerbaijan. Head of the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications was received by the President of Azerbaijan, Prime Minister, Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Energy and Industry, Transport, Ecology and Natural Resources and Communications and Information Technologies of Azerbaijan.
On 1-4 November 2007, Mrs. Christine Egerszegi-Obrist, President of the National Council of Switzerland visited Azerbaijan. During her visit to Azerbaijan, President of the National Council of Switzerland met with the President of Azerbaijan as well as Chairman of the Milli Majlis (Parliament) of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Minister of Foreign Affairs.
On 14 November 2007, 3rd meeting of the Azerbaijan-Switzerland Joint Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation was held in Baku.
On 26-27 November 2007, the delegation led by Mr. Khalaf Khalafov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan paid a visit to Bern for holding the next round of bilateral political consultations.
On 23-27 January 2008, Mr. İlham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan paid a working visit to Switzerland to take part in the Annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. At the sidelines of the Annual meeting in Davos, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan met with Mr. P. Couchepin, President of the Swiss Confederation.
On 4-7 February 2008, Mr. Arzu Rahimov, Chief of the State Migration Service paid a visit to Switzerland to exchange views on bilateral cooperation between migration authorities of Azerbaijan and Switzerland as well as learn Swiss experience in migration management.
On 18 February 2008, Mr. Ziya Mammadov, Minister of Transport of Azerbaijan met with Mr. Moritz Leunberger, Head of the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications of the Swiss Confederation to discuss perspectives of further development of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Switzerland in the field of transport.
On 10-13 May 2008, H.E. Mr. P. Couchepin, Federal President of the Swiss Confederation paid an official visit to the Republic of Azerbaijan on the invitation of H.E. Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Federal President met with his Azerbaijani counterpart as well as Prime Minister and Chairman of the Milli Majlis (Parliament) of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
On 19-20 November 2008, Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan visited Switzerland. During his visit to Azerbaijan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan met Federal President P. Couchepin, Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs M. Calmy-Rey. During the visit, he also met C. Egerszegi-Obrist, Chairman of the Swiss-Azerbaijani Parliamentary Friendship Group in the Swiss Parliament.
On 27-30 January 2009, Mr. İlham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan paid a working visit to Switzerland to take part in the Annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. At the sidelines of the Annual meeting in Davos, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan met with Mr. H.-R. Merz, President of the Swiss Confederation.
On 20-21 May 2009, Mr. M. Ambühl, State Secretary of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs paid a visit to Azerbaijan and was received by Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Mr. E. Mammadyarov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
On 16-18 September 2009, Mr. Ogtay Asadov, Chairman of the Milli Majlis (Parliament) of the Republic of Azerbaijan paid an official visit to Switzerland. During his visit, Chairman of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan met with Presidents of the National Council and Council of States of Switzerland. Mr. O. Asadov was also received by the Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland and hold discussions with members of the Swiss-Azerbaijani Friendship Group in the Swiss Parliament.
On 18-20 October 2009, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan paid an official visit to Switzerland on the invitation of Mr. Hans-Rudolf Merz, President of the Swiss Confederation. During first ever official visit to Switzerland, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan met with Mr. H.-R. Merz, President of the Swiss Confederation, Mr. A. Berset, President of the Council of States. President of Azerbaijan was also received by A. Tschappat, Mayor of Bern. On 19 October 2009, Days of Azerbaijan Culture were inaugurated in Bern with participation of Presidents of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Swiss Confederation.
On 18 January 2010, the 4th meeting of the Azerbaijan-Switzerland Joint Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation was held in Bern.
On 27-28 January 2010, Mr. İlham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan paid a working visit to Switzerland to take part in the Annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. At the sidelines of the Annual meeting in Davos, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan met with Mrs. D. Leuthard, President of the Swiss Confederation.
On 23 April 2010, Ambassador Murad Najafbayli presented his credentials to President Doris Leuthard accrediting him as Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Switzerland.
On 30 September 2010, Mr. K. Khalafov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan visited Bern to participate at the next round of political consultations between Azerbaijan and Switzerland. During the visit, he was also received by Mrs. M. Calmy-Rey, Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of the Swiss Confederation.
On 26-28 January 2011, the delegation led by Mr. İlham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan paid a working visit to Switzerland to take part in the Annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. At the sidelines of the Annual meeting in Davos, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan met with Mrs. M. Calmy-Rey, President of the Swiss Confederation.
On 13-15 March 2011, Mrs. M. Calmy-Rey, President of Swiss Confederation paid an official visit to Azerbaijan and met with the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Prime Minister and Chairman of the Milli Majlis (Parliament) of the Republic of Azerbaijan. During her trip to Azerbaijan, Swiss President also visited Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan, where she got acquitted with the project of restoration of cahriz funded by the Swiss Government. In Nakhchivan she was received by Mr. V. Talibov, Chairman of the Supreme Council of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan
On 4-6 May 2011, the delegation comprised of the representatives of the leading Azerbaijani libraries visited Switzerland to exchange views of the perspectives of bilateral cooperation between Azerbaijani and Swiss libraries and learn Swiss experience in library management.
On 2-3 September 2011, Mrs. Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, Vice-President of the Swiss Confederation and Head of the Federal Department of Finance paid a short visit to Azerbaijan and met with the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Prime Minister as well asMinisters of Economic Development and Finance of Azerbaijan.
On 26-28 October 2011, Switzerland-Azerbaijan Business Forum was held in Baku.
On 13-15 November 2011, Mrs. Doris Leuthard, Head of the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications of the Swiss Confederation visited Azerbaijan and was received by Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. During her trip to Azerbaijan, she met Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Energy and Industry as well President of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan.
On 8 December 2011, the 5th meeting of the Azerbaijan-Switzerland Joint Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation was held in Baku.
On 25-28 January 2012, Azerbaijani delegation led by Mr. İlham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan paid a working visit to Switzerland to take part in the next Annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. At the sidelines of the Annual meeting in Davos, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan met with Mrs. E. Widmer-Schlumpf, President of the Swiss Confederation.
On 26 June 2012, Ambassador Akram Zeynalli presented his credentials to President Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, accrediting him as Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Switzerland.
On 7-8 September 2012, Mr. Samir Sharifov, Minister of Finance of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Mr. Elman Rustamov, Chairman of the Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan visited Montreux to attend 2012 Constituency Meeting within the Bretton Woods Institutions. Minister of Finance of the Republic of Azerbaijan held a bilateral meeting with President Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf at the sidelines of the event.
On 19 November 2012, an official reception was held in Bern on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Switzerland. Officials of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Swiss Federal Assembly, and representatives of federal and cantonal authorities, diplomatic corps accredited in Switzerland, various institutions, business people, Azerbaijani diaspora, Azerbaijani students and academia in Switzerland attended the reception.
From 3 to 11 December 2012 a delegation led by Mr. Misir Mardanov, Minister of Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan paid a visit to Switzerland. During the visit he met with Mauro Dell'Ambrogio, State Secretary for Education, Research and Innovation of Switzerland, and visited Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Glion Institute of Higher Education, Pedagogical University of Central Switzerland in Lucerne and University of Bern.
On 11 December 2012, Azerbaijani Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov received Mr. Yves Rossier, State Secretary in the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs who were visiting Azerbaijan to hold bilateral consultations between the two Ministries. The counterparts exchanged views on political, economic and energy cooperation between Azerbaijan and Switzerland as well as the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. Mr. Yves Rossier also met with Deputy Ministers Messrs. Khalaf Khalafov and Araz Azimov.
On 24 January 2013, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan met with his Swiss colleague Mr. Ueli Maurer on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. The Presidents expressed their satisfaction with the development of bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Switzerland and underlined the perspectives of development of these relations in various spheres, particularly in the energy sector. Messrs. Aliyev and Maurer also held exchange of views on current state of negotiations on Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.
On 12-13 April 2013, a large delegation comprised of businessmen and headed by the Federal Councillor Mr. Johann N. Schneider-Ammann, Head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research paid a visit to Azerbaijan. During the visit the delegation was received by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev, and held meetings in the Ministries of Economic Development, Finance, Communications and Information Technologies, and Industry and Energy. The delegation also visited “Sangachal” terminal and the factory of Holcim AG in Azerbaijan.
On 1-2 July 2013, for the first time in the history of Azerbaijani-Swiss relations, the President of the Council of States of the Swiss Federal Assembly Mr. Fillippo Lombardi visited Azerbaijan. He was received by the Azerbaijani President Mr. Ilham Aliyev and Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament Mr. Ogtay Asadov. Mr. Lombardi also met with other high level officials, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov. The Azerbaijani-Swiss political, economic and energy cooperation was discussed at the meetings.
On 25 September 2013, Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan met with his Swiss colleague Mr. Didier Burkhalter on the sidelines of the 68th session of the UN General Assembly in New York. The counterparts exchanged views on bilateral relations between the two countries. Mr. Burkhalter welcomed Azerbaijan’s choice of the TAP pipeline and stressed its future contribution to ensuring Europe’s energy security. Mr. Mammadyarov informed his colleague on the peace negotiations for the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict and underlined the need for Armenia’s withdrawal of its armed forces from the occupied territories as a prerequisite for the conflict resolution.
On 18 October 2013, Mr. Ueli Maurer, President of the Swiss Confederation congratulated Mr. Ilham Aliyev on his re-election as the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
On 15 November 2013, Mr. Araz Azimov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan paid an official working visit to Bern to hold political consultations. He met with Mr. Yves Rossier, State Secretary in the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs as well as with Mr. Arthur Mattli, Head of Europe, Central Asia, Council of Europe, OSCE Division and Mrs. Heidi Grau, Head of Task Force for Swiss Chairmanship in the OSCE. The counterparts exchanged views on political and economic cooperation between two countries, Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict as well as the priorities of the Swiss Chairmanship in the OSCE.
On 23 January 2014, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan met with his Swiss colleague Mr. Didier Burkhalter on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. The Presidents held exchange of views on bilateral political and economic relations between the two countries, as well as on the current state of negotiations on Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and discussed the possible contribution of Switzerland to the conflict settlement in the framework of the chairmanship of the latter in the OSCE.
On 9-16 March 2014, a delegation consisting of heads of executive powers of a number of cities and regions of Azerbaijan (Aghstafa, Balakan, Bilesuvar, Julfa, Khizi, Gubadli, Gobustan, Lankaran and Siyazan) paid a working visit to Switzerland. During the visit, the delegation visited Bern, Lugano, Interlaken, Frauenfeld, Schwyz and had meetings with their local authorities. During the meetings, the delegation exchanged views on different issues like organization of local self-government in Switzerland, urban and budget planning etc
On 26 May 2014, the Azerbaijani delegation, headed by Minister of Economy and Industry Mr. Shahin Mustafayev and comprised of the senior officials of various ministries and agencies of Azerbaijan visited Bern to attend the 6th meeting of the Joint Azerbaijani-Swiss Economic and Trade Commission. On the same day, a Business Forum between Azerbaijani and Swiss companies was held in Bern. The Azerbaijani and Swiss businesses were represented there by some 150 business people from such areas like finances and banking, industry, property, trade, tourism etc. On 27 May 2014, Minister Mr. Shahin Mustafayev met with Swiss Federal Councillor and Head of Federal Department for Economic Affairs, Education and Research Mr. Johann Schneider-Ammann. They held exchange of views on current state of affairs and perspectives in bilateral economic cooperation between the two countries.
On 2 June 2014, the President of the Swiss Confederation H.E. Mr. Didier Burkhalter paid official visit to the Republic of Azerbaijan. While in Azerbaijan, the Swiss President was received by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan H.E. Mr. Ilham Aliyev, Chairman of Milli Majlis (Parliament) Mr. Ogtay Asadov, and he also had meetings with the Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Ali Hasanov, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov. Among the issues discussed were bilateral political, economic and humanitarian cooperation, settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno Karabakh conflict as well as interaction between Swiss Chairmanship in the OSCE and Azerbaijani Chairmanship in the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.
On 28 June 2014, President of the Swiss Confederation and Head of Federal Department of Foreign Affairs Mr. Didier Burkhalter visited Baku in the capacity of OSCE Chairperson-in-Office to attend the 23rd Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.
On 5 July 2014, Federal Councillor Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf and Swiss National Bank Chairman Thomas Jordan attended the meeting of the Swiss constituency in the Bretton Woods institutions in Baku. It was for the first time that such a meeting took place in Azerbaijan which has belonged to the group since it was founded in 1992. Azerbaijani Finance Minister Samir Sharifov held bilateral talks with Federal Councillor Widmer-Schlumpf on the margins of the meeting.
A delegation from Azerbaijan headed by the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mrs. Bahar Muradova made a working visit to Switzerland to attend the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's 13th Autumn Meeting in Geneva from 3 to 5 October 2014.
Art exhibition “Young Azerbaijani painters in Switzerland” dedicated to the Independence Day of Azerbaijan was organised in Bern from 14 to 16 October 2014 by the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Swiss Confederation in cooperation with “Dirchalish” Social and Psychological Rehabilitation Centre of the Youth.
Azerbaijan-Switzerland Business Conference on “Opportunities for Swiss companies in the non-oil sector of Azerbaijan” was held in Zurich and Geneva on 11 and 13 November 2014 by the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Swiss Confederation in cooperation with the Joint Chamber of Commerce Switzerland – CIS.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov paid a working visit to Switzerland to attend the OSCE Ministerial Council held in Basel from 4 to 5 December 2014.
On 23 January 2015, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan met with his Swiss colleague Mrs. Simonetta Sommaruga on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. The Presidents held exchange of views on bilateral political relations, current state of economic cooperation between the two countries and its further development, as well as on the ongoing negotiations on Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
On 20 February 2015, in Bellevue Palace Hotel in Bern there was organised the presentation of two books, “Khojaly Witness of a War Crime” co-authored by Ian Pert from the European Azerbaijan Society and “Forgotten Conflict” by a freelance Swiss journalist André Widmer, which was followed by the screening of the film “Endless corridor” by a Lithuanian director Andrius Brokas. The event was organised by the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Swiss Confederation and the European Azerbaijan Society in the framework of “Justice for Khojaly” campaign initiated by Mrs. Leyla Aliyeva, Vice-President of Heydar Aliyev Foundation and General Coordinator for Intercultural Dialogue of the Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation.
On 4-5 March 2015, the Azerbaijan-Switzerland Friendship Group of Milli Majlis (Parliament) of the Republic of Azerbaijan headed by Mrs. Bahar Muradova, Vice-President of the Azerbaijani Parliament, paid an official visit to Switzerland. The delegation met with the President of the National Council Mr. Stéphane Rossini, the President of the Council of States Mr. Claude Hêche, the Chairwoman and Vice-Chair of the Switzerland-Azerbaijan Friendship Group of the Swiss Federal Assembly Mrs. Christine Egerszegi-Obrist and Mr. Filippo Lombardi, the Chairmen of the External Policy Commissions of both Chambers of the Swiss Federal Assembly Mr. Felix Gutzwiller and Mr. Carlo Sommaruga, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Mr. Yves Rossier, Mayor of the City of Bern Mr. Alexander Tschäppät, and Mayor of the City of Gruyères Mr. Jean-Pierre Doutaz. Political, economic, cultural, humanitarian and inter-parliamentary cooperation between countries and its future development perspectives, as well as the efforts towards the solution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict were among the issued discussed during the meetings.
On 23-24 April 2015, World Tourism Forum was held in Lucerne. Azerbaijan was invited to the Forum as a “guest country” for its being “the most dynamic economy”. It was the first time in the history of this Forum that any country was invited as a guest. The Azerbaijani delegation led by the Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Mr. Nazim Samadov comprised the representatives of the Azerbaijan Tourism and Management University and various tourism companies.
On 1-5 May 2015, Embassy of Azerbaijan organised a study trip to Azerbaijan for the ambassadors accredited in Bern. While in Baku, the delegation visited Alley of Honour and Alley of Martyrs, Heydar Aliyev Centre, Flag Square, Carpet Museum, Old City Historical Museum Complex, Gala Archaeological and Ethnographic Museum Complex, Baku 2015 European Games Operation Committee, and was received by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism. They were informed about the reforms carried out in Azerbaijan and preparations for the European Games. The ambassadors had the chance to be acquainted with the culture and cuisine of the Azerbaijani people.
On 11-13 June 2015, Mr. Filippo Lombardi, Deputy Chair of the Swiss-Azerbaijan Inter-parliamentary friendship group visited Azerbaijan to attend the opening ceremony of the inaugural European Games held in Baku. He also had meetings in the Azerbaijani Parliament.
On 12 June 2015, Mr. Didier Burkhalter, Head of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs visited Azerbaijan to attend the opening ceremony of the inaugural European Games held in Baku.
On 10-13 September 2015, Federal Folk Music Festival was held in Aarau, Aargau. Azerbaijani musicians attended this event founded in 1971 as “honoured guests” and performed Azerbaijani folk music mugam.
On 13-17 September 2015, 20th Annual Meeting and General Assembly of the International Association of Prosecutors was held in Zurich. The delegations from the Azerbaijani Ministry of Justice and Prosecutor General’s Office led respectively by Mr. Fikrat Mammadov, Minister of Justice and Mr. Zakir Garalov, Prosecutor General attended the event. Mr. Zakir Garalov met with Swiss Attorney General Mr. Michael Lauber on the sidelines of the event. The counterparts discussed the issues of bilateral cooperation.
On 28 September 2015, Mr. Javid Gurbanov, Chairman of the “Azerbaijan Railways” JSC visited the factories of the Swiss “Stadler Rail AG” in Altenrhein and Bussnang where he met with the company’s CEO Mr. Peter Spuhler and was acquainted with the production process in the factories. The interlocutors expressed their satisfaction with the well-established cooperation between the sides and discussed the ways of its further development.
On 19 December 2015, a meeting between the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev and the President of the Republic of Armenia Mr. Serzh Sargsyan was held in Bern on the initiative of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs. The OSCE Minsk group co-chairs and Special representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office were also present at the meeting. Before the meeting of the Presidents, the Azerbaijani President met with the Swiss Federal Councillor, Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs Mr. Didier Burkhalter.
On 22 January 2016, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan met with his Swiss colleague Mr. Johann Schneider-Ammann on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. The Presidents held exchange of views on bilateral political relations, current state of economic cooperation between the two countries and its further development, as well as on the ongoing negotiations on Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
On 10 March 2016, 7th meeting of the Joint Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation between the Swiss Federal Council and the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan was held in Baku.
On 14 April 2016, the delegation of the Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan led by Mrs. Bahar Muradova, Vice-President of the Parliament, paid a working visit to Bern. The delegation met with the President of the Council of States of the Swiss Federal Assembly Mr. Raphaël Comte, Chair of the Committee of Foreign Affairs of the Council of States Mr. Christian Levrat and the members of the Committee, and State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Mr. Yves Rossier. The delegation also attended the inaugural ceremony of the Swiss-Azerbaijan Friendship Group re-established after the recent parliamentary elections in Switzerland. At the meetings, a broad exchange of views was held on the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict as well as Swiss-Azerbaijani cooperation in political, economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres.
On 25-28 May 2016 a delegation from Azerbaijan led by Vice-Minister of Economy Mr. Niyazi Safarov visited Switzerland. The delegation attended Azerbaijan-Switzerland Business Forum on Trade & Investment Opportunities in a Diversifying Economy, which was held in Winterthur, and held meetings in various pharmaceutical companies. Thus, among those with whom the delegation discussed possible cooperation were the representatives of "Scienceindustries" and "Interpharma" societies as well as such companies like "Roche", "HERBAMED", "Swissforce Pharma" and "SKAN".
The 14-16 July 2016, the delegation of the Swiss Confederation led by Mr.Ueli Maurer, the head of the Federal Deparment of Finance, paid an official visit to Azerbaijan. During this visit Federal Councillor was received by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, as well as met his counterpart in Azerbaijan Mr.Samir Sharifov and the Governor of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan Mr.Elman Rustamov
On 5-8 September 2016, upon the initiative of the Embassy of Azerbaijan a delegation led by Mr. Herbert Winter, President of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Switzerland visited Azerbaijan. The delegation met with the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov, Vice-Chairperson of Milli Majlis Mrs. Bahar Muradova, Chairman of the State Committee for the Work with Religious Communities Mr. Mubariz Gurbanli, Vice-Chairman of the Caucasus Muslim Board Mr. Rashad Aliyarli, Ambassadors of Switzerland and Israel to Azerbaijan, representatives of various Jewish communities in Azerbaijan. The delegation also visited Guba region as well as a number of Jewish religious, cultural and educational centres.
On 4-8 October 2016, Azerbaijani jazz week was held in “Marians Jazz Room” of the unique jazz hotel Innere Enge in Bern organized by the Embassy of Azerbaijan to Switzerland in cooperation with Bern International Jazz Festival. During the week marked by performance of well-known Azerbaijani jazz musician Shahin Novrasli the audience had also a chance to taste Azerbaijani cuisine and wines.
On 10 October 2016, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan paid an official visit to the Swiss Confederation. He met with Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs Didier Burkhalter, President of the Upper House of the Swiss Federal Assembly, Council of States Raphaël Comte, and Chairman of the Azerbaijani Friendship group in the Swiss Federal Assembly, Head of the Swiss delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of OSCE, Deputy Head of the Swiss Delegation to PACE Filippo Lombardi. Among the issues discussed during the meetings were Azerbaijani-Swiss bilateral political, economic and humanitarian cooperation, conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and other regional and global issues. The two Ministers signed Agreements between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Swiss Federal Council on the facilitation of the issuance of visas and on the readmission of persons residing without authorisation.
On 19 October 2016, an academic conference was held in the University of Bern on the judgement of the European Court of Human Rights on the case of Chiragov and others v. Armenia. The conference was moderated by Prof. Denise Brühl-Moser, and presentations were made by Prof. Hans-Joachim Heintze from the Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (Bochum, Germany), Dr. Valentina Azarova, Postdoctoral Fellow, Centre for Global Public Law (CGPL), Koç University (Istanbul, Turkey), Dr. Gabriel Lansky, Partner at Lansky, Ganzger und Partner Law Firm, which represented Azerbaijan as a third party to the case, Mr. Çingiz Əsgərov, Agent of the Government of Azerbaijan before the European Court of Human Rights, and Mr. Rahmi Dogan, Chairman & Managing Director in Mergen Consulting
On 31 October 2016, a delegation led by Rufat Aslanli, Chairman of the Board of the Financial Markets Supervision Chamber of the Republic of Azerbaijan paid a working visit to Bern. The delegation met with high level representatives of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO. At the meetings, a presentation was made on the activities of FINMA, an exchange of expertise and views was held on technical assistance capabilities, various projects as well as the successfully implemented Capital Market Modernization Project CMMP.
From 29 November to 3 December 2016, Azerbaijani Jazz Week was organized in “Marians Jazz Room” of the unique jazz hotel Innere Enge in Bern co-organized by the Embassy of Azerbaijan and Bern International Jazz Festival. Well-known Azerbaijani jazz musician Amina Figarova performed during the week. The audience had also a chance to taste Azerbaijani cuisine and wines, and to get acquainted with various books, booklets and promotion material on the Azerbaijani culture and tourism.
On 17 January 2016, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan met with his Swiss colleague Mrs. Doris Leuthard on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. The Presidents held exchange of views on political and economic relations and future prospects of cooperation between the two countries.
On 22 February 2017, ceremony of commemoration of the victims of Khojaly massacre was organized by the Embassy of Azerbaijan to Switzerland in close cooperation with the European Azerbaijan Society in Bern in the framework of Justice for Khojaly campaign launched by Mrs. Leyla Aliyeva, Vice President of Heydar Aliyev Foundation. The Rhein-Quartett performed a series of compositions by famous Western and Azerbaijani composers, including Khojaly 613 piece by Pierre Thilloy.
On 23 January 2017, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan E.Mammadyarov and Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of the Swiss Confederation D.Burkhalter held an exchange of letters on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
On 15 March 2017, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Swiss Confederation, the Embassy of Azerbaijan to Switzerland organized the premier projection in Switzerland of the movie “Ali and Nino” at Bellevue Palace Hotel in Bern.
On 16-17 March 2017, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan I.Aliyev and President of the Swiss Confederation D.Leuthard held an exchange of letters on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
On 28 March 2017, a conference on Multiculturalism and intercultural dialogue: Azerbaijani and Swiss models was co-organized in Bern by the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan to Switzerland and the Association “House of Religions – Dialogue of Cultures”. The delegation from Azerbaijan was led by the First Vice-Chairman of the Committee on the Work with Religious Organizations of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Sayyad Salahli.
On 25-27 April 2017, the delegation from Azerbaijan comprising Mr. Famil Mustafayev, Director of the State Agency for Vocational Education under the Ministry of Education and Mr. Eldar Salahov, Head of the Department for Career Guidance and Cooperation with Employers of that same Agency visited Switzerland with the purpose of getting familiarized on spot with the Swiss vocational education and training system and exchanging views with relevant Swiss authorities and institutions.
Das Buch “Berg-Karabach: Aus den Quellen erforschte Geschichte“ von Ramiz Mehdiyev, Mitglied der Akademie der Wissenschaften Aserbaidschans ist im schweizerischen Verlag “Publishing Partners” in der deutschen Sprache veröffentlicht worden.
On 16 October 2017, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev made a working visit to Switzerland to meet with the President of the Republic of Armenia on the initiative of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs. The OSCE Minsk group co-chairs and Special representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office were also present at the meeting.
On 10th October 2017, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Switzerland Hanum Ibrahimova has presented her credentials to Doris Leuthard, President of the Swiss Confederation
On 9th November 2017, a business forum on “South Caucasus Markets - as a Gateway to the CIS, Middle East and Europe” was held in Zurich by the Joint Chamber of Commerce Switzerland – CIS/Georgia (JCC). Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Swiss Confederation Mrs. Khanim Ibrahimova made an extensive presentation at the forum about the candidacy of Baku to host World EXPO 2025.
On 20th December 2017, the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the Swiss Confederation held in Bern a presentation of the city of Baku as a candidate to host World Expo 2025. The presentation organized in the Hotel Bellevue Palace was attended by the officials of Swiss federal and local authorities, business people and local society as well as by the diplomatic corps accredited in Bern.
On 24th January 2018, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan met with his Swiss colleague Mr. Alain Berset on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. The Presidents held exchange of views on political and economic relations and future prospects of cooperation between the two countries.
On 20 March 2018, Mr. Mahmud Mammad-Guliyev, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan paid an official working visit to Bern to hold high-level bilateral consultations. He met with Krystyna Marty Lang, Deputy State Secretary of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Swiss Confederation, as well as with Mr. Erwin Bollinger, co-chair of the Joint Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation between Azerbaijan and the Federal Council of the Swiss Confederation, Mrs. Marina Verbitzky, Head of the CIS Department of the Swiss Medical Network and Mr. Matthias Zurflüh, Head of Marketing Department of SWISSCOFEL. The counterparts exchanged views on political and economic cooperation between two countries, Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict as well as the Swiss companies' involvement in regional energy and transport projects initiated by Azerbaijan.
On 16 April 2018, Mr. Alain Berset, President of the Swiss Confederation congratulated Mr. Ilham Aliyev on his re-election as the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
On 25 May 2018, President of the Swiss Confederation Alain Berset has sent a congratulatory letter to President of Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on the occasion of the Republic Day and the centennial of the foundation of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.
On 26 June 2018, Etibar Najafov, Head of the Department of Interethnic Relations, Multiculturalism and Religious Affairs of the Presidential Administration of Republic of Azerbaijan has visited House of Religions in Bern.
On June 25-29 2018, the export mission hold in Switzerland . The mission includes 16 local companies operating in the field of hazelnut production and selected on a competitive basis. As part of the mission, meetings hold in Switzerland between Azerbaijani hazelnut producers and leading Swiss hazelnut importers.
On 8-9 July 2018, a large delegation comprised of businessmen and headed by the Federal Councillor Mr. Johann N. Schneider-Ammann, Head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research paid a visit to Azerbaijan. During the visit the delegation was received by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev, and held meetings in the Ministries of Economy and Finance. The delegation also visited factory of Sika in Azerbaijan.
On 4-6 October 2018, Mr. Fuad Muradov, Chairman of the State Committee on Affairs with Diaspora of the Republic of Azerbaijan paid a visit to Switzerland. Chairman had meetings with Ms. Sarah Mastantuoni, Director of the Swiss Abroad, Mr. Richard Vögeli, CEO of Soliswiss and Mr. Laurent Perriard, Deputy Director of the Consular Directorate of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.
On 10-11 October 2018, Mrs. Hijran Huseynova, Chairperson of the State Committee on Family, Women and Children Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan paid a visit to Switzerland. Chairperson had meetings with Mr. Bruno Parnisari, Deputy Director of the Federal Social Insurance Office and Ms. Sylvie Durrer, Director of the Swiss Federal Office for Gender Equality. During the visit "Azerbaijani women" book by French writer Jean-Louis Gouraud has been launched at the University of Fribourg
On 29-30 October 2018, a Swiss delegation headed by Mr. Mauro Dell'Ambrogio, State Secretary for Education, Research and Innovation paid a visit to Azerbaijan. During the visit the State Secretary was received by the President Ilham Aliyev and held meetings with Mr. Jeyhun Bayramov, Ministry of Education and Mr. Hafiz Pashayev, Rector of ADA University. Further stops included the Baku Higher Oil School and Azerbaijani-French University, where the State Secretary gave a lecture on “From Education to Innovation in Switzerland”.
On 23th January 2019, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan met with his Swiss colleague Mr. Ueli Maurer on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. The Presidents held exchange of views on political and economic relations and future prospects of cooperation between the two countries.
On 5 March 2019, the delegation led by Mrs. Krystyna Marty Lang, Deputy State Secretary of Switzerland, paid a visit to Bern for holding the next round of bilateral political consultations. During the visit, he was also received by Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan Novruz Mammadov and Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov. During the meetings the sides discussed bilateral cooperation and the perspectives of deepening the political and economic relations.
On 28 June 2019, the Azerbaijani delegation, headed by Minister of Economy Mr. Shahin Mustafayev and comprised of the senior officials of various ministries and agencies of Azerbaijan visited Bern to attend the 8th meeting of the Joint Azerbaijani-Swiss Economic and Trade Commission. During the visit, a Business Forum between Azerbaijani and Swiss companies was held in Zurich. On 28 June 2019, Minister Mr. Shahin Mustafayev met with Swiss Federal Councillor and Head of Federal Department for Economic Affairs, Education and Research Mr. Guy Parmelin. They held exchange of views on current state of affairs and perspectives in bilateral economic cooperation between the two countries. Within the framework of the Joint Commission meeting, Memorandums of Understanding was signed between the Agency for the Development of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses of Azerbaijan and the Swiss Association for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Swiss Thurgau canton.
On 24-28 August 2019 Representatives of Swiss companies visited Azerbaijan. As part of the visit, meetings hold in Azerbaijan between Azerbaijani hazelnut producers and leading Swiss hazelnut importers.
On 9-11 October 2019, the President of the Council of States of the Swiss Federal Assembly Mr. Jean-René Fournier visited Azerbaijan. He was received by the Azerbaijani President Mr. Ilham Aliyev and Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament Mr. Ogtay Asadov. Mr. Fournier also met with other high level officials, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov. The Azerbaijani-Swiss political, economic and energy cooperation was discussed at the meetings.
On 20-22 October 2019 representative delegation consisting of the heads of leading companies of Western Switzerland, mainly from the French-speaking cantons, visited Azerbaijan.
On 4-5 November 2019 Head of Foreign Policy Department of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan Hikmat Hajiyev visited Switzerland. As part of his working visit to Switzerland, Hikmat Hajiyev has met with Deputy State Secretary of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs Krystyna Marty Lang, and Co-Chair of the Joint Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation between the Government of Azerbaijan and the Federal Council of the Swiss Confederation, Federal Council Delegate for Trade Agreements Erwin Bollinger. Mr. Hajijev has delivered also a lecture on Azerbaijan’s foreign policy at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy.
