On 22 September 2021, the GCSP and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) hosted the 8th edition of the Zermatt Roundtable on Security Issues in North East Asia. It brought together more than 20 prominent experts from the US, China, Russia, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Europe. After almost two years of interruption, mainly due to the pandemic, the track 2 Roundtable was exceptionally held virtually.

This edition of the Roundtable focused on two of the most sensitive issues of international security, namely: how to prevent escalation between the US and China; and breaking the stalemate on the Korean Peninsula. The exchanges were candid and useful, while reflecting the critical state of current relations between the US and China and the deadlock on the Korean nuclear issue.

The chairs of the Roundtable included GCSP director, Ambassador Thomas Greminger, GCSP Foundation Council President, Ambassador Jean-David Levitte, and former President of the GCSP Foundation Council, Professor François Heisbourg.

The participants of the Roundtable recognised that the challenge ahead is daunting if we are to avoid a new form of Cold War and prevent the associated risks of conflict between the great powers. As many participants pointed out, the most pressing issue is restoring and maintaining dialogue between actors and providing the opportunity for more positive processes to develop. Helping to facilitate these efforts is one of the objectives of the GCSP.

The Zermatt Roundtable, co-sponsored by the Swiss FDFA, is an appropriate instrument to achieve such dialogue. The GCSP and FDFA aims to convene the Zermatt Roundtable in its traditional track 1.5 format in 2022.

Ambassador Thomas Greminger remarks on the Roundtable stating, “The Zermatt Roundtable provides the opportunity for the GCSP and Switzerland to continue to serve as a safe and neutral space that facilitates dialogue and accompanies both like-minded and non-likeminded parties in the context of security issues in North East Asia.”