Switzerland and Italy in Dialogue
The head of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, with the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani

Switzerland and Italy in Dialogue: Innovation in the service of life

The seventh edition of the Forum "Switzerland and Italy in Dialogue", held at the Embassy of Switzerland in Italy in November 2024, confirmed the crucial role of these two countries as strategic partners in the field of innovation and life sciences.

The event, promoted by the embassies of the two countries with the support of Limes - Rivista Italiana di Geopolitica, brought together important political, economic, academic and cultural figures, including Federal Councilor Ignazio Cassis and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. Switzerland, a world leader in research and innovation, is a model of excellence thanks to strategic investments, a high-level education system and a forward-looking vision.

As Federal Councilor Ignazio Cassis pointed out, the aim of the Forum is to create channels of dialogue that strengthen relations between the civil, academic and economic communities of Italy and Switzerland. This year's discussions focused on technological innovation and its impact on society, highlighting the importance of collaboration, especially in the life sciences sector.

The speech of Prof. Dr. Günther Dissertori, Rector of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, emphasized how education and research are key to maintaining European competitiveness. The numbers also confirm the strength of this synergy: in the European Union's framework program for research and innovation, Horizon 2020 (2014-2020), Swiss and Italian researchers collaborated on more than 1,500 projects, and in the ongoing Horizon Europe program (2021-2027), they have so far collaborated on more than 500 projects. Between 2018 and 2022, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) has supported more than 1,300 projects involving Swiss and Italian researchers.

The Forum stressed not only the value of collaboration, but also the need for an inclusive approach to meeting the challenges of the future. As Prof. Dissertori mentioned, an inscription at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology bears the words of Francesco de Sanctis, one of the first professors at ETH in 1856, who was also Italian: "Before you are engineers, you are men".

The head of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, with his Italian counterpart, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani
The Swiss Ambassador to Italy, Monika Schmutz Kirgöz and Christian Vitta, President of the State Council of the Canton of Ticino; on the left: Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and part of the Italian delegation
A strong turnout for the event
Prof. Dr. Günther Dissertori during his speech