Discours et allocutions de l`Ambassadeur

Dear readers of “Russia Prestige”,

It is my pleasure to congratulate you with 2010 year and to wish you health, your family wellbeing, success and prosperity.

Last year took a special place in more than 200-year history of Russian-Swiss relations. First, in January 2009 the Russian Prime Minister Mr. V.V.Putin met during the annual meeting of WEF in Davos the President of the Swiss Confederation Mr. H.-R.Merz. Our bilateral ties on level of parliaments, ministries, business communities were successfully developing along the year. Russian-Swiss documents in the spheres of jurisprudence and culture have been also signed.

The State visit in Switzerland of the President of Russia Mr. D.A.Medvedev was the self-evident culmination of the year. One may say it was the “historical” visit as far as it was the first official visit of the head of state of Russia in all the history of Russian-Swiss relations. That visit was highly important for practical life. During the staying of President D.A.Medvedev in Bern some agreements were signed. They all have enlarged and strengthened the contractual basis of our bilateral cooperation and aimed at new vectors for its further development.

Trade and economic relations are an important part of our numerous ties. Notwithstanding the fall of trade turnover in 2009 – due to objective reasons – we ascertain the mutual confidence in good prospects of business interconnections between Russian and Swiss.

Switzerland places the 12^th among the largest countries-investors in Russian economy. Above 40’000 Russians are working at more that 600 Swiss enterprises in Russia. Businessmen from the “Alpine Republic” are more and more interested in participation in infrastructure projects of Winter Olympic Games in Sochi 2014. In the meantime Russian investors are actively entering different Swiss markets, especially in hi-tech and industry. The volume of accumulated Russian investment in Switzerland in 9 months (January-September) of 2009 grew by 1/3 up to 6 bln US$ (from 4 bln).

One may safely say of favourable climate of Russian-Swiss relations. We could never see before such a closeness and even coincidence of positions towards the basic events in international life and such a friendly and cloudless atmosphere in bilateral affairs. Mutual confidence and respect, accumulated during the years of cooperation, experience in overcoming of naturally arising “roughnesses” make it possible quietly and frankly to discuss in a friendly atmosphere all the topics at which our opinions does not coincide.

In general we rightfully state an achievement of new quality of cooperation between Russia and Switzerland. I am sure that we have every reason to look for its future with optimism. That cooperation is based on solid legal foundation, it possesses an affluent cultural and historical potential, and high dynamics of growth. We are united by firm assertion of basic values of democracy in foreign policy, adherence to norms of international law in solving all the problems of modern world order. Our people by tradition feel mutual esteem and sympathy. That is why one may hope for and well-groundly expect the successful development of versatile fruitful relations between our two countries.