Office of External Affairs
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We are in charge of external affairs that concern other cantons, the federal government, or foreign governments, and support the Government Council in representing the canton in intercantonal and international committees.
Table of contents
About us
Our staff at the Chancellery deals with external affairs of cross-departmental nature that concern other cantons, the federal government, or foreign governments.
We assist the members of the Government Council in the fulfilment of their representative duties in intercantonal and international conferences and committees not within the purview of a single department.
What we do
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Administrative support and preparation of the necessary documents for the meetings of intercantonal and international conferences and committees.
Managing external affairs not within the purview of one single department:
- Acting as a cantonal office for the EU's regional programmes to support cooperation across borders in which the canton participates.
- Regularly informing Zurich's members of the Swiss Federal Parliament about the position of the Canton of Zurich regarding topics that the committees responsible for preliminary examination are considering (in addition to or coordinated with the information coming from the departments).
- Compiling the session bulletin and organizing the annual meeting of the Government Council with the Zurich members of the National Council and the Council of States.
Supporting the members of the Government Council in their representational duties. This includes the preparation of receptions for foreign ambassadors and delegations or in the context of partnerships of the canton with foreign regions.
Coordinating and promoting the exchange of information on external affairs between the departments and the Chancellery.
We assist the Government Council in the following areas:
- Observing the developments in European and cross-border matters as well as questions relating to the Swiss federal system.
- Assessing the developments from the point of view of the Canton of Zurich.
- Proposing and initiating new projects, alliances, or strategic foci.
- Reporting to the Cantonal Parliament on the ongoing and planned efforts in the field of intercantonal and international cooperation.
