Indonesia and Thailand are two important trading partners for Switzerland. The COVID-19 crisis has had a negative impact on economic relations with our international partners. I am undertaking this visit with the conviction and the goal that face-to-face talks will enable us to continue from where we left off at the start of the pandemic”, said Council of States President Alex Kuprecht ahead of his official trip to Indonesia and Thailand. Mr Kuprecht will be accompanied on his visit by Benedikt Würth (The Centre, SG), member of the Council of States and vice president of the delegation to the EFTA Parliamentary Committee.
The first part of the Council of States’ presidential visit will take the delegation to Jakarta and Lombok, Indonesia. The Southeast Asian country is the third largest democracy in the world and is expected to have the fourth largest economy globally by 2050. Indonesia has been one of eight priority countries in SECO’s cooperation programme for economic development since 2009.
Meetings will take place from 31 October to 3 November between the Swiss delegation and representatives from the Indonesian parliament as well as with the foreign affairs and environment ministries. On 1 November, the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the EFTA States and Indonesia, which was approved by the Swiss electorate in March, will come into force. The following day, Switzerland and Indonesia will celebrate 70 years of diplomatic relations. Talks scheduled with the secretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will focus on strengthening Switzerland’s position as an economic and political partner of the Association. The delegation will also visit a vocational school for tourism in Lombok, which teaches sustainable management and is supported by Switzerland.
From 3 to 6 November the Swiss delegation will visit Thailand, where it will meet the presidents of both parliamentary chambers, the deputy prime minister and trade minister, as well as the transport minister in Bangkok. Discussion topics will include economic policy, the political situation in Thailand and cooperation on combating climate change. The delegation is also scheduled to meet with the Thailand-Switzerland Parliamentary Friendship Group and to participate in an event to strengthen trade relations between EFTA and Thailand with a view to the expected resumption of negotiations on a free trade agreement between the two parties. A meeting between Mr Kuprecht and the Swiss-Thai Chamber of Commerce is planned in this context.
This year Switzerland and Thailand are celebrating 90 years of bilateral relations. Around 10,000 Swiss live in Thailand, the largest Swiss community in Asia. The Council of States’ president will meet with members of the expatriate community at the Swiss embassy in Bangkok.