GENEVA 

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis has warned that the world is entering "a new geopolitics of knowledge" that challenges ethics, laws, and the global balance of power, as rapid technological advances outpace political systems.

Speaking at the 2025 Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipation (GESDA) Summit late Wednesday, Cassis said: "Quantum computing, neurotechnologies and synthetic biology are opening new frontiers, faster than politics can follow."

He cautioned that traditional geopolitics is "on fire," with conflicts multiplying and scientific cooperation "trapped by national interests and strategic competition."

"We face a dangerous mix, a world losing both its geopolitical compass and its trust in science," the minister said, emphasizing the need to "defend facts against misinformation, and evidence against ideology."

Cassis highlighted Switzerland's efforts to link science and diplomacy, noting that under its 2024 UN Security Council presidency the connection between scientific progress and peace was recognized for the first time.

He announced a new GESDA initiative on Brain-Computer Interfaces, calling it "a coalition of foundations and global partners working to ensure that this technology serves human flourishing, not inequality."

"The duty to build bridges is ours, and we must do it together," he said.