Ambassador meets Prime Minister:

Direct flights between Lanka, Switzerland soon

Swiss Ambassador Thomas Litscher said he would work towards establishing a direct airline connection between Sri Lanka and Switzerland.

Litscher who called on Prime Minister D M Jayaratne at Visumpaya Tuesday, said over 10,000 Swiss tourists arrived in Sri Lanka last year.

Welcoming the Ambassador, Prime Minister Jayaratne referred to the long-standing relations between the two countries that existed over decades.

The Ambassador wished that there will be increased tourist arrivals from Switzerland as the country is enjoying peace after 30 years of conflict. Litscher regretted the absence of a direct airline connection between the two countries which would help increase tourist traffic from his country.

The Ambassador assured that he would work towards establishing a direct airline connection between the two countries during his tenure.

The Ambassador referred to the presence of leading Swiss business houses such as Baurs, Nestles and Holseim which have strengthened economic and business relations between the two countries over many years.

The Swiss Government is happy that it could extend development and economic assistance to Sri Lanka in several projects. It is expected that the level of bilateral trade which is at a low level at present, could be improved further in the coming year, Litscher said.

The Ambassador said he will encourage more Swiss investors to get involved in projects in Sri Lanka taking the example of Swiss conglomerates operating in the country successfully.

To a query by Prime Minister Jayaratne regarding ethnic harmony in Switzerland, the Ambassador said that it is because of extensive devolution in his country through the canton system which functioned very successfully over the years that had brought cohesion among different ethnic groups in the country.

There are four official languages recognized in Switzerland that afford the opportunity to different ethnic groups to share the administration of the country.

The democracy which operates in Switzerland where neutrality is considered sacred has helped Switzerland to prosper economically and socially. The system of Government in Switzerland is something that cannot be duplicated in other countries, according to the Ambassador.

Ambassador Litscher said that there are around 48,000 Sri Lankans who have settled down in Switzerland of whom one third have become citizens of Switzerland.

These Sri Lankans are engaged in Government and semi-Government sectors in the country and are contributing useful and productive service to the economy of Switzerland, he said.

The Prime Minister requested the Switzerland Ambassador to encourage and develop trade and business relations between the two countries in addition to improving tourism and investments from Switzerland.

The Ambassador proposed that the Sri Lanka Government may consider organizing an exhibition portraying Sri Lanka’s trade and tourism potential to coincide with the Davos Economic Summit held annually in Switzerland so that it will be an attraction to the participating countries at this Summit.