The presidents of the National Council and of the Council of States play an important role in Switzerland’s inter-parliamentary and international relations, even though their term of office is limited to just one year. In Bern, they receive foreign delegations and government representatives in Parliament paying official visits to the country. Every year, the Swiss parliament receives an average of between six and eight delegations of parliamentary speakers from other countries. The presidents sometimes accompany parliamentary delegations conducting official visits to their counterparts abroad and attend inter-parliamentary conferences at European or international level. These visits allow the presidents to deepen their knowledge of the political, social and economic situation in the country concerned and to form views on topical international and regional issues, as well as of Switzerland’s activities in those countries.