Relationship dossier
Turkey
Switzerland
Relationship assessment
Economic agreements underpin ties, alongside recurring disputes over Armenian genocide recognition and Kurdish political activity.
Turkey toward Switzerland
+20Turkey participates in the Turkey-EFTA free trade agreement, which extends to Switzerland, and maintains a bilateral double-taxation agreement with Switzerland. Turkish officials have also objected to Swiss recognition of the Armenian genocide and to Kurdish political activity in Switzerland.
Switzerland toward Turkey
+20Switzerland participates in the Turkey-EFTA free trade agreement and maintains a bilateral double-taxation agreement with Turkey. Swiss recognition of the Armenian genocide and the presence of Kurdish political activity in Switzerland have been sources of friction with the Turkish government.
Overall relationship
+15The relationship has durable economic underpinnings through the Turkey-EFTA trade agreement and a bilateral tax arrangement. These coexist with recurring political friction over Armenian genocide recognition and Kurdish political activity, making the overall relationship mixed rather than a close partnership.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Turkey and Switzerland maintain economic cooperation through the Turkey-EFTA free trade agreement, which includes Switzerland, and a bilateral double-taxation agreement. Political relations have also faced friction over Switzerland's recognition of the Armenian genocide and Turkish objections to Kurdish political activity in Switzerland. The relationship combines durable economic arrangements with recurring political disputes.
Areas of tension
- Turkish objections to Swiss recognition of the Armenian genocide.
- Turkish objections to Kurdish political activity and events in Switzerland.
Key developments
The Turkey-EFTA free trade agreement, which includes Switzerland, entered into force.
Turkey and Switzerland concluded a bilateral agreement on the avoidance of double taxation.
The Swiss parliament recognized the Armenian genocide, prompting Turkish objections.
Major uncertainties
- The current scope and implementation of bilateral economic and tax cooperation are unclear.
- The frequency and recent handling of disputes over Kurdish political activity and the Armenian genocide are unclear.