20 May 2021
May 20th, as part of the "Ambassadorial Dialogue" cycle of lectures, the Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation Krystyna Marty Lang spoke at the University.
The diplomat had a meeting with MGIMO Rector A.Torkunov and the Vice-Rector for Research, Dean of the School of International Relations A.Baykov. After the sides exchanged thoughts on current events, the Ambassador delivered a lecture to MGIMO students about Switzerland's foreign policy and the country's activities within the framework of the UN.
Krystyna Marty Lang began her talk by explaining to the audience the main mission of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and the basic foreign policy principles enshrined in the country's constitution. The Ambassador emphasized five principles, which guide the activities of diplomats representing Switzerland: peace and security, human rights, economic growth, sustainable development and digitalization. The guest spoke about the country's activities in each of these spheres and noted that Switzerland's foreign policy can only be successful if it adopts an integrated approach to reaching its goals.
The speaker also insisted upon the importance of Switzerland's membership in the UN, which allows the country to express its point of view on global problems on the world stage. The diplomat described Switzerland's involvement in numerous programs implemented by the UN, highlighting its activism in such areas as cybersecurity, healthcare, poverty alleviation, migration regulation and combatting terrorism.
At the end of the lecture, Krystyna Marty Lang answered questions from the audience about Switzerland's role as a mediator in international conflicts, the problem of gender inequality, Switzerland's relations with Great Britain after Brexit, foreign policy in a modern multipolar world and the specifics of training diplomats in Switzerland.
