Geneva struggles to stay “cooking” of world diplomacy as Trump cuts the sting

In the afternoon of April, the five -star Angleerre Hotel on the shores of Lake Geneva was recovering from an hour of lunch. The Denizens of the capital of world diplomacy, however, had not shown their usual Joie de Vivre.

With global disorder trade, march autocracy and help organizations obtained from US financing cuts, officials of the approximately 450 international bodies based in Geneva Fear for the future of the city as a pillar of global politics.

“The world is changing every day at this time. People have to meet and argue, and we see that in our hotels and restaurants,” said Xavier Rey de Lasteyrie, CEO of Rey Group, based on Geneva, who has and develops hotels and other real estate in Switzerland and abroad. “Geneva is still the place to exchange information. What worries us is the difference in the image in six months.”

Although sometimes caricatured as a sleeping nest of long lunches and large expenses accounts, the inhabitants of the second city in Switzerland say that he plays a critical role in global order. He hosted the historic peaks during the Cold War, a Biden-Putin meeting in 2021 and negotiations that laid the foundations for the 2015 Iran Nuclear Agreement.

“We have a saying here that for the UN, New York is the restaurant, but Geneva is the kitchen. The real work, often between the racks, is done in Geneva,” said Sami Kanaan, the Deputy Mayor for the City.

President Trump’s decision to leave the World Health Organization in Geneva began an alarm bells cacophony, said Kanaan. “We have faced crisis before, but I don’t think we faced this level of complexity and urgency.”

U.S. cuts have led to the budgets and budgets of the UN High Commissioner’s Bodies for Refugees at the Red Cross International Committee.

The Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres reviseAnd he has asked the departments to try to move Geneva and New York staff to less expensive cities. The WHO, meanwhile, plans to cut off staff and restrict their work, and the United States said that funding for the World Trade Organization and others are “under review”.

The United States is not alone in separating humanitarian work. Countries across Europe are in a dramatic drama drive, with the United Kingdom with its development budget to fund it. Even neutral Switzerland has raised its expense roof in defense by billions over the next few years, while it has reduced millions of foreign aid.

Geneva begins to reflect some world geopolitical patterns, with China a larger role as the United States retire. Beijing is expected to supply more than one fifth of the United Nations budget for the first time this year.

“Nature hates a vacuum and others could intervene. China is very active here in terms of vocal support of multilateralism,” said Vincent Subilia from the Geneva Chamber of Commerce.

But, along with legitimate diplomatic work, Beijing also uses his gin foot for survey and harass critics, according to one investigation Posted by the International Consortium of Research Journalists this week. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China denied The reports, saying that it “fully respects” the laws of other countries.

The new sources of funding are very necessary, said Maxime Provini, leader of the radical-liberal party in Geneva. The city issued a loan of 2 million Swiss francs ($ 2.4 million) for gin -based NGOs, but “we cannot assume all the responsibility of these organizations,” said Provini.

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reduces the costs by 30 percent at the Geneva headquarters and the regional offices, half the number of senior employees, according to an email to all staff last week seen by the Financial Times. The UN is generally likely to lose thousands of employees, many in Geneva.

“It is likely that there is an impact on the city, including its global role as a humanitarian center,” said Matthew Saltmarsh, the head of the UNCHR news and media, before the new cuts last week were announced.

Geneva still has large sectors of private banking, basic products and luxury watches that increase their economy, but diplomacy and help are essential for their identity. Many genevans are alarmed by Saudi Arabia that house the Russia-Ukraine Peace negotiations, seeing it as proof that they are left behind by an authoritarian change in global order.

Some are already accepting a diminished role in the world ahead, and they consider what they have to conserve.

“The question is:” What do we want to keep? “I think anything about humanitarian law and peace,” said Jean Keller, president of the Geneva Call Board of Trustees, an organization aimed at protecting civilians in conflict. Switzerland neutral, “more than almost any other country, can operate in terrible places in war.”

Fears have resulted in the search for national soul in a country that is proud of independence from the rest of Europe.

The far right says that Switzerland is to blame for the low position of Geneva, arguing that Ukraine’s conversations occur elsewhere because it damaged their non -partisan credentials by adopting EU sanctions in Russia.

“The main reason that Geneva is losing glamor as an international site is not the fact that the United States removes help. The main reason that its future has become more difficult is because Switzerland chose to lose neutrality,” said Vincent Schaller, a member of the Swiss right -wing people in the Municipal Parliament in Geneva.

François Savary, founder of a local wealth management company, requested unity to save the city. “It’s a national cause and everyone has to participate in the resolution,” he said.

The federal and local governments have approved loans and aid packages to help the Jobra international work and organizations.

But politicians are aware of support, which is less than $ 20 million, will not approach the sums needed for Geneva to maintain their current state. From the city to the federal level, officials described the contributions as “symbolic” and a “signal”, although they admitted that they were not instead of the size of the United States that disappears.

Among them are Yves Herren, President of the Green Liberals of Geneva, who helped promote the city’s emergency loan to a non -profit. Without further background, “I am afraid at some point Geneva begins to lose its position” as “host for international events,” he said.