Year to celebrate Swiss-Russian links

Dimitry Cherkashin (left) and Johannes Matyassy of Presence Switzerland present the planned events Keystone

Switzerland and Russia are this year highlighting a number of milestones in their long-standing bilateral relations.

These include the opening of the first official Swiss mission in St Petersburg 190 years ago and the 100th anniversary of the Swiss diplomatic presence in Russia.

The year will offer exhibitions, concerts and concerts celebrating the two countries’ relationship over the past two hundred years, as well as looking forward to the future.

“The main purpose [of this gala year] is to bring the people of these two nations together,” the Russian ambassador to Switzerland, Dimitry Cherkashin, said.

The programme consists of 60 projects and will cost SFr2.3 million ($1.7 million). Also on the agenda are an economic forum in Zurich and a culture week in Moscow.

Negative coverage

According to Presence Switzerland, one of the organisers, the year will provide an opportunity to mend broken bridges between the two parties after recent setbacks in the Russo-Swiss relationship.

One such low point was the protracted dealings to extradite Moscow’s ex-nuclear energy minister Yevgeny Adamov to Russia.

Ernst Mühlemann, head of the Russo-Swiss relations committee, told swissinfo that Russia’s image in Switzerland needed boosting.

“The Swiss media’s coverage of Russia is still very negative,” he said but added that was not unique to Switzerland.”The European Union, in association with Nato, is backward-looking when it comes to the East.”

Mühlemann said that Russians had the impression that the Swiss judge Russia too critically.

He cited the often negative headlines in the Swiss press focusing on human rights abuses, particularly in the breakaway republic of Chechnya, as well as the muzzling of free speech and state repression.

Neutrality

Mühlemann, a former member of parliament, said Switzerland’s neutrality was highly respected in Russia and that the first Chechen war ended thanks to a large degree because of Switzerland’s policy of good services.

He is optimistic that the free market economy will develop in Russia, improving trade relations between Bern and Moscow.

Between 1999 and 2005 Swiss exports to Russia trebled to around SFr1.5 billion ($1.15 billion).

“Russia is without a doubt a good country for Swiss investments,” said Mühlemann.

swissinfo

In brief

Presence Switzerland, a department of the foreign ministry, was founded by the Swiss government and parliament in 2000.

Its mission is to strengthen and coordinate the presence of Switzerland abroad “with the goal of conveying an authentic, original and vibrant image”.

Previous areas of activity focused on the US, Germany, France, Britain, Spain and China.

Key facts

In 11 months in 2005 Switzerland exported to Russia the equivalent of SFr1.389 billion ($1.081 billion) – a 27% increase.
Switzerland imported SFr791 million worth of Russian goods (+2%).