“Being in Geneva allows us rapid and close interaction with the key intergovernmental bodies based here, namely the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), whose activities touch on our member companies’ activities.”

Harvey E Bale, Jr.
Director General
International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA)

where the world talks in one place

With its traditional openness to the outside world and central European location, not to mention its role in mediation, Switzerland – and especially the GREATER GENEVA BERNE area (GGBa) – is the logical choice for international organizations.

Berne, the federal capital, is home to all the diplomatic missions and institutions including the Universal Postal Union. But GREATER GENEVA BERNE area partner canton Geneva has a stronger case in claiming to be the international city of Switzerland; it is the location for two-thirds of the United Nations’ activities and has the largest concentration of UN personnel in the world, at 8,500.

united approach

All of the UN’s major fields of work are carried out in Geneva: health, labor issues, setting standards in intellectual property, human rights, humanitarian action and disaster relief, economic, trade and development activities, disarmament efforts, science and technology, as well as research and training. the UN’s 26 constituent agencies with headquarters in the city include:

• International Labour Organization (ILO)
• International Telecommunications Union (ITU)
• Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR)
• World Health Organization (WHO)
• World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
• World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

In addition to the World Trade Organization (WTO) whose base is in Geneva, a multitude of other intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and approximately 300 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have a long association with the city. This ensures a concentrated network of informal and institutional contacts in many of the region’s key industries. These organizations also include the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations.

Nearly 200 permanent missions of foreign countries are also based in Geneva, offering invaluable informal and institutional contact opportunities and ensuring a positive business environment that can be felt well beyond the city’s boundaries.

GGBa’s sporting chance

The International Olympic Committee was established in Lausanne in 1915. Today the GGBa, and particularly the canton of Vaud, hosts more headquarters of international sports federations and organizations than any other region in the world, such as the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), the International Cycling Union (UCI), the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the World Anti-Doping Agency, and many others.

In 2006, Lausanne opened the House of International Sport (MIS), the only center in the world that groups together under a single roof some 30 international sports federations and organizations, as well as a dozen enterprises active in the field of sport. This dynamic makes it possible for the various international sports leaders to tap significant synergies and to share skills and best practice.