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President Guy Parmelin met with Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul in Bangkok on Thursday, 15 October, during his official visit to Thailand. The talks focused on bilateral relations, the free trade agreement negotiated between the European Free Trade Association and Thailand, and current international affairs. President Parmelin will then pay a presidential visit to Vietnam and, together with the EFTA partners, sign a free trade agreement.

The climate crisis demands rapid and effective solutions – yet many promising climate technologies remain stuck in pilot and demonstration projects. What is missing is the step towards a broad implementation. This is precisely where the new Climate Solutions Hub (CSH) by Empa and Eawag comes in: It investigates why transformative climate solutions fail to scale and, together with partners from research, industry, and the public sector, develops ways to overcome these barriers. As a result, the CSH is among the first research hubs worldwide to focus explicitly on the scaling of innovative climate solutions.

The Producer and Import Price Index rose in September 2026 by 0.3% compared with the previous month, reaching 100.7 points (December 2025 = 100). In particular, petroleum products, computers, petroleum and natural gas and motor vehicles and motor vehicles parts saw higher prices. Compared with September 2025, the price level of the whole range of domestic and imported products fell by 0.2%. These are the results of the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

Data is considered one of the most important resources of any administrative unit. Consequently, in 2021, in response to motion 20.4260 “Future-proof data infrastructure and data governance in the Federal Administration”, the Federal Council decided to establish appropriate governance structures. The aim is to create the necessary foundations for successful digitalisation, making it easier for interested parties to find and use Federal Administration data. At the same time, the Federal Administration is to establish clear rules, processes and responsibilities for collecting, using and protecting data. The Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO) examined whether the seven departments and the Federal Chancellery have established governance structures for data management. The audit findings show that the departments have so far made only limited progress towards achieving the Federal Council's objective. Given the low level of implementation, the SFAO decided not to pursue further examination of the planned audit questions and concluded the horizontal audit ahead of schedule.

At its meeting on 14 October, the Federal Council took note of the results of the consultation process on the new law on communication platforms and search engines, and instructed the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC) to draw up a dispatch by the end of 2027. The preliminary draft is to be amended with measures to protect children. Furthermore, the reporting procedure is to be extended to include all content suspected of being unlawful.

President Guy Parmelin and Federal Councillor Karin Keller-Sutter, as well as Martin Schlegel, Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank, will attend the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Bangkok from 15 to 17 October 2026. A meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors will also take place during the Annual Meetings. The Swiss delegation will additionally use the event for bilateral talks.

Opening address by Alexandre Fasel, State Secretary at the FDFA, at the Anticipation Summit organised by the foundation Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA) in Geneva. Check against delivery.

Switzerland wants to modernise its electronic warfare capabilities and so is taking part in a European programme to procure electronic attack systems. At its meeting on 14 October, the Federal Council approved Switzerland’s participation in the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of electromagnetic combat capabilities for electronic attack (MoU Knifefish).

The Swiss Confederation issued two bonds by auction on 14.10.2026: 0%, maturity 22.06.2029 (reopening) and 0.25%, maturity 23.06.2035 (reopening). The issuance volume (excluding own holdings) amounts to a total of 344.290 million francs.

During its meeting on 14 October 2026, the Federal Council was informed about the third national report on the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing. Switzerland's risk exposure in this area remains stable. The greatest threats stem from organised crime, corruption, and property and tax crime.

On 14 October, the Federal Council launched the consultation process on the plurilateral Agreement on Electronic Commerce (E-Commerce Agreement, ECA). The ECA establishes a common regulatory framework for digital trade among 67 members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and enhances legal certainty for businesses. The consultation procedure will run until 28 January 2027.

A new final report (aviation) is available on the website of the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board STSB.