In addition, countries and organisations such as the European Union* have also put into place regulations that impact Switzerland and its foreign policy. This context must be given due consideration. The Federal Council is addressing the fundamental issues raised in postulate 17.3789 on Switzerland's foreign policy positioning as well as the positioning of International Geneva, but is going beyond this in three aspects: firstly, it is integrating the latest developments at an international level, specifically the roadmap presented by the UN secretary-general. Secondly, it is aiming to foster a comprehensive understanding of the opportunities and risks related to digitalisation, which extends beyond the cybersecurity-specific focus. Thirdly, in fulfilment of the postulate, it conceives the report as a thematic follow-up strategy to the Foreign Policy Strategy 2020-23. In accordance with this strategy, Switzerland intends to further develop its digital foreign policy and raise its profile in this regard (objective 4.4). This will be taken into account here. 4 This strategy explains the conceptual understanding of various key notions, describes the international environment, sets out Switzerland’s interests and values in the digital Space as well as its strengths, identifies four action areas for Switzerland's digital foreign policy for the next four years and highlights the opportunities for Switzerland as a country. The Strategy includes a glossary to help better understand the various concepts. With its European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the EU has played a global leading role in protecting personal data. The EU is aiming to develop a wide-ranging governance model as part of its data strategy. In a White Paper on Artificial Intelligence (Al), the EU Commission also set out how Al will be used to benefit the European economy, while safeguarding citizens’ rights. The EU's digital strategy and the measures relating to the digital single market and cybersecurity also flow into the EU's regulations. Teeregs tags 19 rae) = 5 oO Oo s Foreign Policy Strategy 2020-23 @ =) @ 9 s Geographic oH a MENA Strategy 2021-24 a . Sub-Saharan Africa Strategy ~ . China Strategy 9021-24 IC Strategy 2021-24 Digital Foreign Policy Strategy 2021-24 f Strategy for Communication Abroad 2021-24 o = a > = IC: regional/thematic guidelines and cooperation programmes with countries co . ae Human Rights Guidelines 2021-24 S o D Qo. oS Figure 1: Cascade of foreign policy strategies to strengthen coherence (Source: FDFA - illustrative selection of documents). 2 Background