On October 5th, 2009, a delegation of Swiss members of parliament and representatives from the Swiss Embassy in Brussels visited the International Polar Foundation (IPF) headquarters in Brussels. The delegation's visit took place in the general framework of "aiming at zero emissions" and enabled the Swiss delegation to gain more insight into the offerings of the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica as a research station.
The visit followed up on a presentation about Princess Elisabeth Antarctica given by the IPF during a workshop at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in 2008. The scientific research opportunities in the area had then triggered the interest of scientists from EPFL, the universities of Bern and Geneva, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zurich, and the Swiss Institute for Snow and Avalanches in Davos.
All participants in the visit were led through Class Zero Emission after being given a presentation of the IPF and its missions and discussing research possibilities at the Princess Elisabeth Station.
The Swiss National Parliament was represented by:
- Mrs Chiara Simoneschi-Cortesi (TI), President of the Swiss National Council
- Mrs Liliane Maury Pasquier (GE), Swiss Counselor of States and former President of the Swiss National Council (2001-2002)
- Mr Sep Cathomas (GR), Member of the Swiss National Council
- Mrs Christa Markwalder Bär (BE), Member of the Swiss National Council
- Mr Ulrich Schlüer (ZH), Member of the Swiss National Council
- Mr Christoph Lanz, Secretary General of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland
- Mrs Suzanne Stritt, Chief of Protocol at the Service of International Relations
The Swiss Embassy in Brussels was represented by:
- His Excellency Ambassador Jean-Jacques de Dardel
- Mr Florian Koch
- Mr Alain-Denis Henchoz, Counselor
