Swiss Neutrality Initiative Rejected, Canada-India CEPA Talks and UK-Norway North Atlantic Security

Swiss voters rejected the popular initiative “Safeguard Swiss neutrality” on September 27. The provisional official final result recorded 70.15 per cent voting No and 29.85 per cent Yes, with every canton rejecting the proposal and turnout at 47.06 per cent.

The initiative would have written a stricter practice of neutrality into the Federal Constitution, including limits on cooperation with military alliances and a prohibition on sanctions against belligerent states except sanctions decided by the United Nations and measures designed to prevent circumvention.

Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand met Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in New York on September 27. The ministers welcomed progress in implementing the Canada-India roadmap across trade, security, energy, mobility, innovation and defence.

They discussed efforts to advance negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and identified long-term energy cooperation in renewable energy, critical minerals and civil nuclear energy as areas with significant potential.

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham met Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in Liverpool on September 27. The leaders reviewed the Lunna House strategic defence agreement and described the UK-Norway partnership as a long-term framework for defence cooperation in the North Atlantic.

They also discussed Russian hybrid activity in the maritime domain, cooperation through NATO and the Joint Expeditionary Force, rapidly developing technology and the United Kingdom’s planned G20 work on artificial intelligence. Both leaders welcomed the Greenland-Denmark-U.S. agreement signed during UNGA and its role in High North security.

The UK government announced measures on September 27 to use procurement more directly in support of domestic industrial capacity. Electricity, gas and water infrastructure providers will be expected to use procurement to support British manufacturing jobs and apprenticeships, with legislation possible if voluntary implementation is insufficient.

The National Shipbuilding Office will receive oversight of future civil ship procurement across government. A new research vessel for the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science will be open only to UK shipyards, with Defra applying the national-security exemption in the Procurement Act 2023. The planned vessel will incorporate automation, robotics, artificial intelligence and clean fuels.

Türkiye hosted a high-level consultative meeting on Somalia in New York on September 27 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Qatar’s Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al Khulaifi, participated in the meeting.

Qatar’s official account said the discussion addressed recent developments in Somalia and that Doha reaffirmed support for Somalia’s state institutions and for efforts intended to promote security and stability while preserving the country’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity.

Qatar’s Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al Khulaifi met UAE Minister of State Sheikh Shakhbout bin Nahyan Al Nahyan in New York on September 27 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

According to Qatar’s foreign ministry, the two ministers discussed bilateral cooperation and recent regional developments, with particular attention to diplomatic efforts and joint coordination aimed at de-escalation and strengthening regional security and stability.