ICC Switzerland Centenary

100 years of "Merchants for Peace"

The challenges for globally active companies and service providers in times of crisis were the focus of the 100th anniversary of ICC Switzerland. Against the background of the consequences of the Ukraine war for the international economy, guest of honor Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin gave an overview of Switzerland's position in the global economy and took part in an exciting discussion. Concrete practical issues were addressed in the preceding workshop on "Contracts and Arbitration in Times of War," focusing on the implementation and consequences of sanctions, the application of "force majeure" clauses, problems in arbitration negotiations involving travel restrictions, and the enforcement of arbitral awards.

A record number of more than 100 interested participants followed the annual meeting of ICC Switzerland in Zurich and at the same time celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Swiss National Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce ICC. This world business organization is active in over 100 countries, has its headquarters in Paris, and since 2017 has been the only private organization with full observer status at the UN General Assembly.

Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin's guest presentation, "Switzerland's Place in the Global Economy in Turbulent Times," focused on the consequences of rising inflation, lack of supply chain security, energy supplies at risk, and Switzerland's involvement in a changing global economic order. The future of multilateralism, a sanctions policy without side effects, and Switzerland's relationship with the European Union were addressed by Thomas Wellauer, president of ICC Switzerland. "Prosperity through multilateralism" will also be the motto of the ICC World Chambers Congress in Geneva in 2023. This will be the first time since 1947 that such a world congress will be held in Switzerland.

We thank everyone who has joined us for the 100 years ICC Switzerland celebration and of course a very warm thank you to our speakers who made this event such a success!

Thank you to our colleagues at ICC Ukraine for these kind congratulations!

Anniversary Letter ICC Ukraine

100 Years ICC Video    John Denton message to ICC

New ICC Brand Identity Video

Check out our ICC Switzerland History Brochure:

ICC Switzerland History Brochure

Zurich, 27 June 2022, 18:15

Baur au Lac, Talstrasse 1, 8001 Zurich 

Keynote Speaker: Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin

ICC Switzerland celebrates this year its 100th anniversary. On behalf of our Chairman Thomas Wellauer, I am pleased to invite you to our anniversary celebration at Baur au Lac in Zurich on 27 June 2022. 

Our guest of honour, Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin, will join us and present an overview of Switzerland’s position in the global economy in turbulent times. Concerns regarding inflation, supply chain security, energy security and the integration of Switzerland into a changing global economic order will be main topics. 

Before the anniversary celebration, we are organising a workshop which will focus on the topic “Contracts & Arbitration in Times of war” with sub-topics such as sanctions, force majeure, travel restrictions, order public and enforcement of awards. Exchange your views and experiences with our experts!

We look forward to seeing you in June. Our event is open to representatives of members of ICC Switzerland, delegates in general and our contacts and friends. Please feel free to forward this invitation to colleagues. Non-members are also welcome. Registration is compulsory. Places are limited. 

Yours sincerely,

Thomas Pletscher

Secretary General

PROGRAMME 100 YEARS ICC SWITZERLAND

At our Annual Assembly yesterday, we had a look on this year's activities and looked ahead what next year will have to offer. Our guest of honour, Daniela Stoffel, State Secretary for International Finance, joined us and gave us a first-hand information on the important changes in the Global Tax System particularly with the digitalization of the economy and the global minimum tax. Thank You to Daniela Stoffel for the amazing Keynote Speech!

Video Recording of 6th Geneva Business Dialogue

Successful 6th Geneva Business Dialogue

To stimulate and facilitate dialogue among international organisations and the respective diplomatic representations in Geneva, we continued our Geneva Business Dialogues. We were pleased with the discussions on the topic of “The Role of Multinationals in the Economic Recovery”. A very warm thank you to our speakers and participants! Thank you all for a successful evening with a very interesting and engaging panel discussion.