On Friday, State Secretary Alexandre Fasel of the Swiss foreign ministry represented Switzerland at the meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers. This engagement was part of a four-day tour of Southeast Asia, aimed at advancing the Swiss Federal Council’s Southeast Asia Strategy.
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According to the Swiss foreign ministry’s announcement on Friday, the strategy seeks to deepen Switzerland’s relations with this economically significant region. During the ASEAN meeting, Fasel held a bilateral discussion with Saleumxay Kommasith, the Foreign Minister of Laos, which currently holds the ASEAN chairmanship for 2024. The meeting also included representatives from ASEAN partner countries.
On Friday morning, Fasel and the Laotian Minister for Public Works and Transport signed a bilateral agreement on air transport. The Federal Council had approved the agreement on November 22, 2023. The Swiss foreign ministry stated that the agreement provides the necessary operational flexibility for the airlines involved in flights between the two countries and will positively impact both economies.
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Earlier in the week, on Wednesday and Thursday, Fasel visited Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, where he held bilateral meetings with Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Minh and Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hoang Long. Fasel’s tour began on Tuesday in Singapore, where discussions focused on science, digitalisation, and regional challenges. On Tuesday evening, the State Secretary inaugurated the new building of the Swiss Embassy in Singapore, described by the Swiss foreign ministry as “a modern, functional, and sustainable structure—symbolic of the bilateral relations between the two countries.”
Adapted from German by DeepL/amva
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