At today’s meeting with President of the National Council of Switzerland Andreas Aebi, President of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) Jüri Ratas, who is on a visit to Switzerland, confirmed that the mutual relations between Estonia and Switzerland were excellent, and discussed the possibilities for strengthening them further.

“The relations between Estonia and Switzerland have always been good and friendly,” Ratas said, and remarked that this year we celebrated the 100th anniversary of our bilateral relations “We are quite similar in terms of our size, culture and business ethics. It can be said about both of our countries that we are attractive to investors, because our governance systems are predictable, transparent, well governed, and entrepreneurially focused.”

Ratas said that although Switzerland and Estonia already enjoyed strong economic ties, it was possible to strengthen them even more, especially given that focusing on high value-added technical sectors had an important place in the national development plans of both countries. He expressed hope that it would be possible to identify opportunities for joint activities in the technology sectors and cooperate in projects, which could serve as building blocks towards our common long-term vision.

The meeting with State Secretary Livia Leu focused on relations with the European Union. Ratas expressed regret that Switzerland had decided to terminate the negotiations on the Institutional Framework Agreement with the European Union. He added that he hoped that it would still be possible for the EU to move on with strengthening and developing the relations with Switzerland.

The President of the Riigikogu is accompanied on the visit by the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Marko Mihkelson and Member of the Riigikogu Helle-Moonika Helme.

Photos of the visit (Erik Peinar, Riigikogu)

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