DUSHANBE, October 5, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- On Tuesday October 6, a high Delegation of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) will pay a one-day visit to Dushanbe.

According to the Swiss Cooperation Office in Tajikistan, the Swiss Delegation consists of its Minister, Micheline Calmy-Rey, Federal Councillor, Ambassador Martin Dahinden, Director of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Ambassador Benedikt Wechsler, Chief of the Cabinet of the Heads of FDFA, Ambassador Christian Meuwly, Head of Political Affairs Division l, Ambassador Rudolf Knoblauch, Head at large for Human Rights policies, Ambassador Helene Budliger, Director of the Directorate for Resources and External Network, Mr. Rodolfo Laub, Head of the Division for Bilateral Economic Relations with Europe and Central Asia, Mr. Erik Reumann, Spokesperson FDFA, Mrs. Christine Honegger, FDFA Deputy Regional Coordinator for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and Mr. Jerome Duperrut, Representative of the Division for IMF and international financial questions of the Federal Department of Finance.

The Delegation will be accompanied by Mr. Stephan Nellen, Ambassador of Switzerland to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, and Mr. Rudolf Schoch, Country Director of the Swiss Cooperation Office in Tajikistan.  The current visit is part of the Central Asia tour made by the Swiss Delegation.

The Federal Councillor’s intensive program includes a courtesy call to President Emomali Rahmon.  The Delegation will held a working meeting with Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi to discuss bilateral and multilateral issues of common interest, in particular political and economic questions, diplomatic relations between the two countries, cooperation with Swiss private companies; the issues of internal development and regional situation such as relations between Tajikistan and its neighbors, Russia, China, USA and EU as well as cooperation within the Commonwealth of Independent States, Collective Security Treaty Organization and Shanghai Cooperation Organization.  In the course of the talks the issue of multilateral cooperation, in particular within UN, OSCE and International Finance Institutions will be discussed as well.