National Council president Christa Markwalder is paying a return visit to Bulgaria following an official visit by the President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria, Tsetska Tsatcheva, to Bern in March of this year. In addition to the meeting with Ms Tsatcheva, Ms Markwalder is scheduled to meet the president of the Republic of Bulgaria, Rosen Plevneliev, the prime minister, Boyko Borisov, the foreign minister, Daniel Mitov and the members of the foreign policy committee of the Bulgarian parliament for discussions on 4 July in the Bulgarian capital Sofia. On the second day of her trip, Ms Markwalder will travel to Plovdiv, where she will visit an SDC co-financed project for the social integration of the Roma.
Relations between Switzerland and Bulgaria are very good. In addition to bilateral issues (political and economic cooperation, and the enlargement contribution), talks will focus on current issues related to European integration, Swiss EU policy and the refugee crisis.
On 7 July, the National Council president will be in Guiyang, capital of Guizhou province in southwest China, where she will take part in the Swiss-Chinese dialogue and at the ECO Forum Global (EFG) as the official Swiss representative and speaker. The EFG was founded in 2009 as a think tank and pursues the objective of developing, with international support, models for the future sustainable development of China. During her stay, Ms Markwalder will also hold talks with representatives of local and regional authorities.
Ms Markwalder will then travel to Beijing, where the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China, Zhang Dejiang, will receive her on 11 July. While in Beijing, she will also meet with parliamentary and government representatives. Discussions will focus on the good bilateral relations, especially after the entry into force of the free trade agreement between Switzerland and China, and on foreign policy issues.
Bern, July 1st, 2016 Parliamentary Services