New Zealand and Switzerland Deepen Cooperation in Antarctic Research

Bern – This week, New Zealand’s Ambassador to Switzerland, Craig Hawke, handed over the Memorandum of Arrangement between Antarctica New Zealand and the Swiss Polar Institute to the President of the Swiss Polar Institute, Prof. Frédéric Herman, and Executive Director Danièle Rod.

The agreement had already been signed in July 2025 in Auckland during a visit by a Swiss scientific delegation – in the presence of New Zealand’s Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology, Dr Shane Reti MP, and Switzerland’s State Secretary for Education, Research and Innovation, Martina Hirayama.

The MoA strengthens scientific cooperation between New Zealand and Switzerland in Antarctica. It supports joint research projects, shared access to infrastructure, and an enhanced exchange of data, expertise, and personnel – including opportunities for early-career researchers.

As both countries prepare for major international Antarctic research initiatives, the agreement lays the foundation for even closer collaboration and cutting-edge science “on the ice.”

Marcel Schütz, PolarJournal