NATO’s relations with Switzerland
Deputy State Secretary of Switzerland, Anton Thalmann
NATO’s relations with Switzerland should be viewed through the Partnership for Peace framework, which the country joined in 1996. NATO and Switzerland actively cooperate in crisis-management training and operations, and have developed practical cooperation in a range of other areas, as provided for in Switzerland’s Individual Partnership Programme (IPP).
NATO values its relations with Switzerland, which the Allies view as an effective partner and contributor to international security. The Allies and Switzerland share key values, such as the promotion of international security, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. NATO and Switzerland select areas of practical cooperation that match their joint objectives.
How does cooperation work in practice?
NATO and Switzerland detail areas of cooperation and associated timelines in the country’s Individual Partnership Programme (IPP), which is jointly agreed for a two-year period. Key areas include crisis-management and response operations; international efforts to promote regional stability, especially in south-eastern Europe; promotion of humanitarian law, transparency and democratic control of armed forces; and arms control demining efforts. The country also hosts about 20 regular courses within the PfP framework to promote training with other Partners in many of these areas.
Switzerland has worked alongside the Allies in peace-support operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Afghanistan under UN Security Council mandates.
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How did relations with Switzerland evolve?
Switzerland joined the new Partnership for Peace (PfP) in 1996 and became a member of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council in 1997. The country joined the PfP Planning and Review Process (PARP) in 1999 to foster interoperability with NATO forces in crisis-management operations. Since PfP accession, Switzerland has played an active role in the Partnership and offers expertise and education and training to other Partner countries and Allies, with a special focus on humanitarian missions, humanitarian law, human rights and civil-military cooperation as well as on transparency and democratic control of armed forces.
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