Switzerland and NATO Sign Agreement to Open NATO Liaison Office in Geneva

(Patria) - NATO will open an office in Geneva to strengthen ties with international organizations based in Geneva, according to an agreement signed by the parties yesterday, TASS reported.

"NATO is opening a multilateral liaison office in Geneva for cooperation with international and
non-governmental organizations located there. Yesterday, in Bern, the Director General of the Directorate for International Law at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), Franz Perrez, and John Swords, Legal Counsel and Director of NATO's Office of Legal Affairs, signed an agreement regulating the legal status of the office," the Swiss government stated.

"After New York and Vienna, NATO is now seeking to strengthen its ties with international
organizations in Geneva as well. To this end, it announced its intention to open a liaison office in Geneva in the summer of 2023," it stated.

"Switzerland is assisting in the establishment of this office in its capacity as host state. The agreement regulates issues including the legal status of the liaison office, as well as privileges and immunities. It was concluded on the basis of Switzerland's Host State Act."

The Swiss government recalled that it received NATO's request to open a liaison office at the end of 2023.

"After the Federal Council approved the opening of such an office, the FDFA was instructed to work out the next steps in cooperation with NATO. Following consultations with the cantons
of Geneva and Vaud, the Federal Council approved the signing of the headquarters agreement on June 26, 2024," it stated.

Bern reiterated its course towards strengthening ties with NATO, including its participation in military exercises, in its foreign policy strategy for 2024-2027 adopted on January 31, 2024. Switzerland, which is neither a member of NATO nor the European Union, supports the EU sanctions imposed on Russia due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia has placed Switzerland on its list of hostile states.