President Keller-Sutter meets Irish president and prime minister in Dublin
Bern, 29.05.2025 — On Thursday 29 May, President Karin Keller-Sutter discussed current bilateral and international issues with Irish President Michael D. Higgins, Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Micheál Martin and Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe during her visit to Dublin. Ms Keller-Sutter will also attend the opening of the ‘Words on the Wave’ exhibition on the ties between Ireland and St Gallen in the early Medieval period.
During Thursday’s official talks, both sides emphasised the many similarities between Switzerland and Ireland: shared democratic values and the rule of law, a mutual commitment to an international order based on international law and human rights, and a common interest in open, rules-based global trade. The strength of bilateral economic relations and the potential for their further development were also highlighted. Ireland is one of the largest foreign direct investors in Switzerland, due in part to the holding structures of large companies.
Ms Keller-Sutter outlined the next steps in the process of stabilising and further developing Switzerland’s bilateral relationship with the European Union. Ireland will assume the EU Council Presidency in the second half of 2026.
Other topics included the search for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, Switzerland’s upcoming chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in 2026, the situation in the Middle East, transatlantic relations and the US tariff policy and the OECD global minimum tax.
Both sides highlighted the strong cooperation between Switzerland and Ireland at the international level. During discussions on multilateral institutions, Ms Keller-Sutter emphasised the importance of Geneva as a centre for international organisations within Swiss foreign policy and Switzerland’s position that global challenges can only be tackled through targeted multilateralism and an international order based on international law.
Exhibition on cultural exchange in the early Medieval period
On Thursday evening, Ms Keller-Sutter and Ireland’s Minister for Culture Patrick O’Donovan will open the exhibition ‘Words on the Wave: Ireland and St Gallen in Early Medieval Europe’ at the National Museum. The exhibition features artefacts from the period when Irish missionaries spread Christianity across Europe, including the wandering monk Gallus who established what would become the renowned monastic settlement at St Gallen.
Several manuscripts from the Abbey Library of St Gallen feature in the exhibition, returning to Ireland for the first time in over 1,000 years. There are also plans for a brief exchange at the National Museum between schoolchildren from Switzerland and Ireland who have been learning about the Irish manuscripts.
In the wake of the natural disaster in the Lötschental valley, President Keller-Sutter will return to Switzerland sooner than planned.