Swiss host foreign journalists annual lunch after COVID break

More than two years after the COVID-19 pandemic smote the world, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) hosted a lunch in Geneva for foreign correspondents where top officials offered support to journalists carrying out their craft.

Jürg Lauber, who heads the Swiss mission to the United Nations in Geneva, said society needs journalism, and it needs people in the profession who have a critical ability.
He said following Switzerland’s decision to support EU sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, the FDFA was working hard to explain that the country could remain neutral after taking its human rights stance.
Foreign Press Association in Switzerland and Liechtenstein (APES) president, Jean Musy, said the association always appreciates the Swiss government’s support of the rights of journalists and access to information.
Musy urged the FDFA to resume its investment and support for the mobility of foreign journalists in Switzerland by reinstating the issuance to APES members of half-tariff vouchers for Swiss Railways as it had done for more than 15 years but rescinded two years ago.
Of the 32 journalists who signed up for the FDFA lunch, 30 were APES members.