The official working visit by the president of the Norwegian Parliament marks the start of a series of high-level visits during the upcoming autumn session of the Federal Assembly. In the course of the session, the presidents of the Tunisian and Serbian parliaments will also pay visits to Switzerland.

​The President of the Norwegian Parliament, Olemic Thommessen, will be paying a return visit to Switzerland on 13 and 14 September following the visit of Ruedi Lustenberger (CVP/LU) to Norway in spring 2014, while he was National Council president. Mr Thommessen and his delegation, several members of which belong to the parliamentary EFTA committee, will be officially welcomed on 14 September by National Council president Christa Markwalder (FDP/BE) (photo call at 8.55am by the entrance to the Parliament Building). Relations between Switzerland and Norway are excellent and are particularly close with regard to EFTA, which offers a framework for regular meetings and close cooperation.

Mr Mohamed Ennaceur, President of the Tunisian Assembly of the Representatives of the People, will be received by National Council president Christa Markwalder on 21 September. The working visit will focus on federalism and Swiss parliamentary procedures. The president of the Tunisian Parliament will also meet members of the National Council Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC-N) and members of both Political Institutions Committees (PIC-N/S). In 2015, a delegation of the FAC-N travelled to Tunis for a fact-finding visit on migration and Council of States president Claude Hêche (PS/JU) also paid an official visit. These visits reflect the excellent relations that exist between the two countries.

On 28 September, National Council president Christa Markwalder will receive the recently re-elected president of the Serbian Parliament, Maja Gojkovic. This is also a return visit, which follows the visit to Serbia by a delegation in April 2012 led by Hansjörg Walter (SVP/TG), who was National Council president at the time. During the visit to Switzerland, the Serbian delegation will also meet Council of States president Raphaël Comte and other Assembly members to discuss topical issues and bilateral relations between the two countries.

As part of festivities to mark the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Switzerland and Vietnam, the Vice President of the Vietnamese National Assembly will pay a visit to Switzerland at the end of the autumn session. Furthermore, the 17th Conference of the Association of European Senates, which will be held in Bern on 20 and 21 October, will provide an additional opportunity to foster bilateral contacts at the highest level.