Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis will pay official visits to Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan from 3 to 5 August 2026. During the trip, the head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) will hold high-level talks with the authorities of both countries, with a particular focus on bilateral relations. In his capacity as the current Chairperson-in-Office of the OSCE, he will also discuss the priorities of Switzerland’s chairpersonship in the current geopolitical environment. The visit was announced in a press release published on the official websites of the Swiss government.
On 4 August, federal councillor Cassis will meet in Baku with President Ilham Aliyev and Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov. Their discussions will focus on bilateral relations, developments in the South Caucasus, and the progress of the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
On 5 August, in Ashgabat, Cassis is scheduled to meet with President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov. The talks will center on relations between Switzerland and Turkmenistan, as well as the role of the OSCE in Central Asia.
As part of his programme in Turkmenistan, and in his capacity as OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Cassis will also visit the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat and the State Energy Institute of Turkmenistan, a partner institution of the Centre.
These two trips mark the first round of visits to the region by Mr Cassis in 2026. The federal councillor and OSCE chairman-in-office will travel to Armenia and Georgia in the autumn.
///nCa, 1 August 2026