Switzerland participates in G20 discussions on research and innovation
Bern, 24.09.2025 — On 23 September, Martina Hirayama, State Secretary for Education, Research and Innovation, attended the G20 Research and Innovation Ministerial Meeting in South Africa.
The focus of this year's G20 meeting in Tshwane (Pretoria) was on strengthening in-ternational cooperation in science and innovation under the motto ‘Science, Technology and Innovation for Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability’ with three priorities:
- Open Innovation: With a new digital platform, the G20 aims to facilitate the exchange of information between countries and promote cross-border innovation partnerships.
- Biodiversity Information: In this area, the G20 supports the work of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), an international data network in which Switzerland is also involved. In addition, the G20 has drawn up goals and measures for global cooperation on natural history collections.
- Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility: Concerned that the spread of misinformation and disinformation is increasingly un-dermining public trust in scientific findings, the G20 has developed recommendations for dialogue between science and society, which the participating ministers have now adopted by consensus. The various activities undertaken this year are collectively referred to as the ‘Tshwane Package,’ as outlined in the Concept Note of South Africa’s G20 Presidency.
The various activities undertaken this year are collectively referred to as the ‘Tshwane Package,’ as outlined in the Concept Note of South Africa’s G20 Presidency.
At the invitation from South Africa, the host country of the G20, Switzerland was able to actively participate in the work of the Research and Innovation Working Group for the second time in a row after 2024. On the sidelines of the event, State Secretary Hirayama held bilateral talks with heads of delegations from China, Canada, the United Kingdom, Brazil and several other countries and organisations.
She also represented Switzerland at the meeting of member countries of the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO). Here, the ministers exchanged views on the status and future of the radio astronomy research facility located in South Africa and Australia and reaffirmed their joint commitment to the SKAO.