Message from the Embassy of Switzerland

The 1st of August is the National Day of Switzerland. On this special occasion, I extend my warm greetings to my Swiss compatriots living in Bangladesh and to all our Bangladeshi friends.

The roots of the Swiss National Day celebration can be traced back over 700 years. In August 1291, delegates from three Alpine cantons swore the oath of unity that laid the foundation of the Swiss Confederation. Diversity, solidarity, innovation and entrepreneurship, rule of law, strong institutions and direct democracy are at the core of what my country stands for today. The national day celebration also gives us a wonderful opportunity to take stock of the current state of bilateral relations and identify areas for further cooperation.

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Our two countries have cultivated and grown a solid, diversified and robust partnership in a whole array of areas since Bangladesh’s independence. Switzerland has been a committed economic and development partner of Bangladesh. This is borne out by our steadily growing bilateral trade and substantial investments from the Swiss private sector.   

We have had several highlights worth mentioning in recent times, but let me mention just one. Bangladesh and Switzerland held the sixth round of biennial bilateral political consultations in Dhaka in June 2026. The meeting reviewed the full spectrum of our bilateral relationship and discussed avenues for further engagement. Economic cooperation was a key topic on the agenda. The two countries reiterated their commitment to shared values: democracy, human rights, multilateralism, respect for international law and rules-based international order. In addition, both sides discussed strengthening cooperation in different multilateral forums, including at the UN and International Geneva. This dialogue confirms the importance that both countries attach to bilateral relations and our commitments to deepening ties and charting the course of our future partnership.

In the economic domain, our annual bilateral trade has maintained the $1 billion+ trajectory for the fifth consecutive year. The Swiss private sector continues to be a crucial technology, product and service provider in all major business sectors in Bangladesh. Thus, our economic relations have emerged as a cornerstone of our bilateral ties. Switzerland is playing a crucial role in supporting public institutions, such as the National Human Rights Commission, in becoming more accountable and effective and stands firmly with Bangladesh in responding to the Rohingya humanitarian crisis.

This year has been momentous for Bangladesh as it successfully held the 13th parliamentary elections in February and formed the new parliament and the new government. Switzerland welcomes these developments. We are confident that the new government will work to realise the aspirations of the people of Bangladesh for a prosperous and inclusive society, in which the rights and dignity of all citizens are upheld. Our own experience suggests that democratic practices and economic development reinforce each other, and both depend on political stability and policy predictability.

While we have various milestones on the bilateral front, our world continues to face numerous challenges. Conflicts and uncertainty in different parts of the globe show how these events put the global supply chains at risk and how their consequences reach beyond the affected regions. For countries like Switzerland and Bangladesh, a rules-based global order and a level playing field are a bulwark in an increasingly uncertain world. Therefore, our shared commitment to multilateralism presents a strong basis for closer cooperation between the two countries at the UN and in International Geneva in addressing global issues that affect us. Artificial intelligence is one such issue: a technology that is reshaping the world as we know it. In June next year, Switzerland will host the 2027 AI Summit in Geneva to discuss the future of AI and global digital cooperation with governments, researchers, technology companies and international organisations.

I hope you will enjoy reading this special supplement. Switzerland deeply values its friendship and partnership with Bangladesh. Therefore, we remain committed to strengthening our diplomatic, economic, cultural and people to people ties. I take this opportunity to convey my sincere wishes to the people of Bangladesh for development, progress and prosperity.

Reto Renggli

Ambassador of Switzerland to Bangladesh

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