Swiss Ambassador to the Philippines Dr. Peter Sutter lauded the good bilateral relations between the Philippines and Switzerland, saying that it has been “fruitful and enriching” despite the global economic turmoil.

The Federal Republic of Switzerland has just celebrated its 718th founding anniversary last week.

“The strong involvement of our citizens in a political decision-making process has been the key element in the development of Switzerland from a poor country to a wealthy nation with a highly competitive global economy,” Sutter said, adding that “in this time of economic turmoil, however, Switzerland also feels the effect of the global recession.”

“At least for the Philippines, Swiss relations for the past 12 months had been fruitful and enriching,” Sutter said.

He said it was in August 2008 when then-Swiss President Pascal Couchepin became the first Swiss president to visit the Philippines.

“His visit offered excellent opportunities for state of bilateral relations,” Sutter said, stressing that bilateral agreements between the two countries covered economic, legal affairs and social exchanges.

“The agreements provide the solid framework for mutually beneficial relations, in particular, illustrated by more than 60 Swiss companies operating in the Philippines,” Sutter said, adding that it “showed confidence in the Philippines as a location for foreign investment.”

The bilateral relations between the Philippines and Switzerland was established on August 30, 1956.

Most of the Swiss companies in the country are in the pharmaceutical/chemical industries, food, trade, distribution and foreign business consultancy.

Meanwhile, the Swiss government may seek the services of young Filipino health professionals to cater to the ageing Swiss population.

Sutter said there are no new bilateral projects between the Philippines and Switzerland this year but there "could be" bilateral cooperations on Filipino health professionals in the future.

This, he said, is seen to help cater the “ageing population of Switzerland.”

According to the Swiss envoy, there are no government to government agreement yet involving health professionals between Switzerland and the Philippines. Currently, young professionals from the Philippines are trained by Swiss companies who hire them.

There are an estimated 10,000 Filipinos in Switzerland, some of whom are migrant workers while others are married to Swiss nationals. Sutter said 25 percent of the Swiss population is composed of foreign residents.

The country’s bilateral cooperation involving health professionals includes that with Spain, Japan, and South Korea.