Welcome message by the Ambassador
Dear Visitors,
A warm welcome to the Swiss Mission!
For many of our international guests, the Mission is the face of multilateral Switzerland: the embodiment of a diplomacy that is modern, pragmatic, close to the men and women who build international cooperation day after day; and also firm, principled, resilient, and forward-looking.
As the Permanent Representative of Switzerland, I am deeply committed to using my mandate to continue along this path and to help shape the international Geneva of the future: a center of cooperation that works for the world, notably through such key priorities as humanitarian action, the rights and needs of the human person, and technological and scientific foresight.
My career in multilateralism in the service of Switzerland, from Bern to New York, has often placed me at the heart of our efforts to promote international cooperation, including through the turbulence it is facing today. On a more personal note, taking up my post in Geneva is also a return: it is an ecosystem that is familiar to me, since I have worked here before, and one I know well, including its diversity, complexity, and above all its enthusiasm for finding negotiated solutions to the major issues of our time. I am, in a way, “a Genevan at heart.”
Together with my team, and in collaboration with the local authorities and our partners, we create the conditions for dialogue here in Geneva. We put the infrastructure in place. We open spaces. We ensure access. We answer questions. We provide services to the tens of thousands of diplomats and experts who call Geneva home and who, in turn, support those who need it most. In other words, we support the international community so that we can best fulfill our role in the service of all in a sometimes divided world.
Whether you are posted in Geneva or simply driven by an interest in international cooperation, I hope this website will answer your questions and perhaps encourage you to follow us on our various channels to learn more.
Enjoy your visit, and see you soon.
Thomas Gürber
Ambassador
Permanent representative of Switzerland to the United Nations and the other international organisations in Geneva