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Referat von Bundespräsident Guy Parmelin Vorsteher des Eidgenössischen Departements für Wirtschaft, Bildung und Forschung, anlässlich der 38. Albisgüetli-Tagung.Zürich, Freitag, 16. Januar 2026

On 14 and 15 January 2026, the Federal Office for Defence Procurement armasuisse held a workshop on technologies for military deception together with the NATO Science and Technology Organisation (STO). More than 90 national and international experts from science, industry and defence discussed the current technological status as well as future challenges.

The 56th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) takes place in Davos next week, with four members of the Federal Council in attendance. President Guy Parmelin will open proceedings on Tuesday, 20 January, alongside the two interim co-chairs of the Board of Trustees, André Hoffmann and Larry Fink, and WEF President and CEO Børge Brende.

National Armaments Director Urs Loher will meet with the Danish Armaments Director Lieutenant-General Kim J. Jørgensen for bilateral talks from 15 to 16 January 2026 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The exchange will focus on current security and arms policy topics as well as possible cooperations in the armaments area. In addition, the bilateral agreement on the mutual recognition of official quality controls between Switzerland and Denmark will be signed.

This year, with Florian Schütz participating in the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is using this international platform to further engage with political, economic, and expert stakeholders on critical cybersecurity matters. To this end, the NCSC is organising a specialist event at the WEF Annual Meeting focusing on geopolitical developments, leadership roles in key technologies, and digital sovereignty. As in previous years, the NCSC is also supporting the WEF organisation in protecting cyberspace.

On 1 January 2026, Switzerland assumed the rotating presidency of the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine (CCNR). The CCNR defines the international regulations for free navigation on the Rhine and thus ensures, among other things, that ships can travel from Basel to Rotterdam or Antwerp or from there to Basel without restrictions or fees. Access to the largest European seaports, which is guaranteed under international law, is important for Switzerland's security of supply. In particular, the Swiss presidency will advocate the digitalisation, sustainability and safety of the critical infrastructure of Rhine navigation.

Scientists at the X-ray free-electron laser SwissFEL have realised a long-pursued experimental goal in physics: to show how electrons dance together. The technique, known as X-ray four-wave mixing, opens a new way to see how energy and information flow within atoms and molecules. In the future, it could illuminate how quantum information is stored and lost, eventually aiding the design of more error-tolerant quantum devices. The findings are reported in Nature.

Yesterday evening, Swissmedic and its social partners on the employee committee and the transfair, VPOD and PVB trade unions reached mutual agreement on a redundancy scheme. This became necessary after Swissmedic was forced to announce in November 2025 that it would be cutting around 45 full-time equivalents over the next two years in addition to reducing material costs by 6 million Swiss francs. These measures are needed to stabilise the Agency’s financial situation.

You could be interested by new pages which have been published on the OFCOM website between 01.01.2026 and 14.01.2026.

Opening speech by Federal Councillor and chairman-in-office, Ignazio Cassis, at the OSCE Permanent Council. The event was held in Vienna. The speech was given in English – Check against delivery

The Secretariat of the Swiss Competition Commission is investigating Microsoft’s licensing fees in Switzerland. The recent fee increases may constitute indications of an unlawful restriction of competition.

Address by the President of the Swiss Confederation, Guy Parmelin, head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER)