Swiss presidency
Parmelin calls for cooperation at UN amid global tensions
Swiss President Guy Parmelin has urged world leaders at the UN General Assembly to preserve dialogue and international cooperation, presenting Switzerland’s multilingual political culture as an example of managing differences.
Guy Parmelin used Switzerland’s rotating presidency to make a direct appeal for cooperation at a UN General Assembly confronting deepening geopolitical divisions. Speaking in New York on September 22, the Swiss president told governments to show that dialogue and collective action remain possible, even as conflicts, strategic rivalry and economic fragmentation put pressure on the international system.
Parmelin presented Switzerland’s multilingual political culture as a practical example of managing disagreement. A country shaped by several languages, regions and political traditions, Switzerland has built institutions that require negotiation across differences. “Our experience has taught us that dialogue is not a sign of weakness,” he said.
The speech placed Switzerland’s domestic experience within a much wider crisis. Parmelin said the world had reached “a tipping point” and warned that core principles of the UN Charter were being openly violated. He specifically cited the prohibition on the use of force and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.
His message carried particular weight because Switzerland combines military neutrality with an active diplomatic presence. Geneva hosts UN agencies, humanitarian organisations and international negotiations. Parmelin argued that the city can remain a meeting place for states with sharply competing interests, provided access stays open to large and small countries alike.
Switzerland Presents Dialogue as Political Strength
Switzerland’s multilingual system gave Parmelin the foundation for his central argument: political differences can be managed through institutions, patience and repeated contact. He described the country’s experience as evidence that borders and disagreements do not have to block cooperation.
“A natural border can also become a place of passage,” Parmelin told the assembly. The line reflects Switzerland’s position at the centre of Europe, where mountains have historically separated communities while also creating routes for trade, migration and exchange. The country’s four national languages, German, French, Italian and Romansh, add a domestic dimension to his appeal for pluralism.
Parmelin also defined cooperation in practical terms. He said partnerships should share knowledge, strengthen each participant’s capacity to act independently and avoid imposing a single model or set of values. “It is less about doing for others than doing with them,” he said.
That emphasis matters for Switzerland’s foreign policy. As a neutral state, Switzerland often seeks influence through mediation, humanitarian engagement and the provision of meeting spaces. Its approach depends on credibility with governments that do not share the same political priorities. The UN speech linked that role to a broader defence of multilateralism, where rules and institutions give smaller countries a voice alongside major powers.