site.btaDeputy Foreign Minister, Swiss Ambassador Discuss Geneva Conventions Anniversary, Ukraine Mine Action Conference

Bulgarian Deputy Foreign Minister Ivan Kondov and Switzerland's Ambassador in Sofia Raymund Furrer conferred here on Friday, Kondov's Ministry reported on its website.

The two discussed opportunities for joint initiatives to mark the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Geneva Conventions. These four treaties and three additional protocols, adopted in 1949, establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. An emphasis was laid on the need to give greater visibility to the principles enshrined in these instruments intended to safeguard mankind from the devastating effects of warfare.

In the course of the conversation, both sides commended highly bilateral interaction between Bulgaria and Switzerland and the fruitful cooperation within the framework of international organizations. The implementation of projects under the Second Bulgarian-Swiss Cooperation Programme, agreed by the Bulgarian coordinators with the Government of the Swiss Cooperation, was on the agenda of the meeting. 

Ambassador Furrer briefed Deputy Minister Kondov on the forthcoming Ukraine Mine Action Conference, due in Lausanne in October 2024. The two diplomats concurred on the opinion that post-war humanitarian demining and mitigating the effects of the use of mines and the decontamination of unexploded ordnance is a key prerequisite for the safety of civilians, the post-conflict recovery of Ukraine, and the country's economic development.