News

OSCE chairman-in-office Ignazio Cassis and OSCE Secretary General, Feridun H. Sinirlioğlu will travel to Moscow on 5-6 February for meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Sergey Lavrov.

The 7th meeting of the Swiss-South Korean Science and Technology Joint Committee was held in Bern on 4 February 2026. On the Swiss side,the meeting was formally opened by State Secretary Martina Hirayama and chaired by Ambassador Jacques Ducrest, Head of International Relations at the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI). On the South Korean side, the meeting was led by Sunghoon Hwang, Director General of the South Korean Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT). It served to assess and to strengthen the bilateral ties in research and innovation.

The third Summit on Responsible Use of AI in the Military Domain (REAIM) will take place in A Coruña, Spain, from 4 to 5 February 2026. Deputy State Secretary for Security Policy, Pälvi Pulli, is heading the Swiss delegation.

In 2025, a total of 232 602 new passenger cars were registered in Switzerland. For the sixth consecutive year, this figure remained well below pre-pandemic levels. Despite a 2% fall in the overall number of new car registrations compared with the previous year, registrations of electric cars increased by 16%, while those of plug-in hybrids rose by 26%. In 2025, there were almost 6.6 million motor vehicles in circulation on Swiss roads. These findings are from the official Road Vehicle Statistics published by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

On Tuesday, 3 February, President Guy Parmelin attended the World Governments Summit (WGS) in Dubai. The summit was dedicated to shaping future governments. Mr Parmelin used the occasion to foster bilateral contacts with heads of state and government. He also met with the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Mohammad bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of Foreign Affairs,  Minister of Economy and other government representatives.

For legal entities, direct taxes levied by the cantons and municipalities amount to an average of just under 9% of profits, which represents a decline compared to 2025. The situation is relatively homogeneous across the cantons: only three cantons recorded an increase in the tax burden on legal entities between 2008 and 2026.For natural persons, on the other hand, the tax burden will increase compared with 2025. However, the trend varies greatly between the cantons: twelve cantons recorded an increase, while fourteen recorded a decrease. On average, direct taxes will account for almost one-fifth of the income of natural persons in 2026.Note: The detailed report on the tax burden index is no longer published annually. The latest report dates from 2025 and is available on our website (link).The next report will be published in 2028.2026 results (basic data - only available in German, French, and Italian) Viewing results for legal entities (Dashboard) Viewing results for natural persons (Dashboard)

In his role as OSCE chairman-in-office, Ignazio Cassis met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha in Kyiv on 2 February 2026.

On Monday, 2 February, President Guy Parmelin joined Emir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah in Kuwait to mark 60 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. He also held talks with Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah and met representatives of Swiss companies.

You could be interested by new pages which have been published on the OFCOM website between 15.01.2026 and 31.01.2026.

Metallic glasses are novel materials with applications in space technology, but also in medicine and the watch industry. To better understand their properties and improve their production, Empa researchers are conducting various experiments on board the International Space Station (ISS) in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA).

The Federal Tax Administration has updated the course listings and bonus shares 2025.

Speech by Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis on the occasion of the FDP Delegates’ Assembly. The speech was given in German and French. The spoken word prevails.