Ticking together like a swiss watch

Martin Aeschbacher, the Swiss Ambassador to Syria, was accredited to Damascus in 2007, but had first come to Syria as a student to study Arabic in 1978-1980. He divided his time between Damascus and Aleppo, never imagining—not in his wildest dreams—that he would one day return as ambassador for his country to Syria.

Although the European Union is Syria’s main trade partner, bilateral trade between Syria and Switzerland is still modest. Have efforts been made to move forward in this domain?

Indeed, the trade volume is modest between both countries. In 2007, the value of Swiss exports to Syria was 184 million Swiss Francs. If we look at the growth rate, however, the picture looks much more bright and promising. For instance, between 2000 and 2007, the trade exchange volume has more than doubled. The trend is clearly positive, and the reform and opening up of the Syrian economy will surely contribute to sustain this positive trend.

By the way, trade is not the whole picture: Among the biggest foreign direct investments in Syria in the non oil sector is a Swiss one, by the Swiss company Nestlé. This can be mentioned as a good indicator on promising bilateral economic relations.

As you may know, Switzerland is a liberal country, and Swiss authorities do not decide on trade and investment issues. It is up to Swiss companies to do so. We do help in creating the convenient framework and in helping individual Swiss companies enter the Syrian market.

One of the tools to boost trade and investment is the exchange of business delegations, as in 2006, when an official Syrian business delegation visited Switzerland, and in 2007, when a Swiss business delegation, headed by the secretary of state, visited Syria.

In general, Swiss companies have a lot to offer to the modernization of the Syrian economy. I may mention high quality machinery, top of the line engineering, environmental technology and similar products or services. If we look at Swiss exports to Syria, we notice that the main items are pharmaceuticals, watches and machinery. The biggest potential lies probably in machinery.

This brings us to our next question, on political relations between Damascus and Berne. They can be described as warm, thanks to Switzerland’s well-known neutrality on a variety of regional issues. Given this long-held status, can the Swiss government contribute to the peace talks by playing the role of mediator, like the Turks did in 2008?

Bilateral political relations between Switzerland and Syria are indeed very cordial and there is a good level of mutual trust. In general, Switzerland has some competitive advantage to contribute to peace efforts in the region: no colonial past, neutrality, and no hidden agenda. Our partners know that we are ready to help whenever we can contribute to peace efforts.

The late President Hafez al-Assad, on several occasions, met US presidents in Geneva. At the same time we encourage Syrian authorities to open an embassy in Berne, which would give an additional push to our bilateral relations.

Another hallmark of the Swiss legacy, in addition to neutrality, is its commitment to humanitarian issues. What is the Swiss position on the latest Israeli war on Gaza?

It is true that the humanitarian dimension is a very important aspect of Swiss foreign policy, for many reasons. The Red Cross was founded by Henri Dunant in Geneva, and the ICRC has its headquarter there. In addition, Switzerland is the origin of the Geneva Conventions. We have, therefore, a particular interest in the development of and the respect for international humanitarian law.

This particular concern and Swiss neutrality do by no means mean that Switzerland never takes position in international political matters. We do raise our voice when we think it to be necessary, even if we do it normally with some restraint. Swiss people have been very much affected by the human suffering in Gaza, and the Swiss Government on several occasions publicly asked for an immediate ceasefire and for the strict respect of international humanitarian law. Swiss humanitarian aid is active in Gaza directly, as well as through UNRWA and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

What about bilateral cultural relations?

Cultural activities and cultural networking are an important part of relations between people, because cultural interactions are particularly effective in the long run. They create bonds of equal importance as economic and political relations. Syria used for long years to be a rather unknown country in the Swiss cultural milieus with the notable exception of archeology. In the past few years, however, we can observe a spectacular rise in cultural interest in Syria among the Swiss. More and more Swiss tourists, artists and students of the Arabic language come to Syria, which has become a destination of choice.

As for cultural activities, I may mention the festival “Jazz lives in Syria,” which was initiated by the Swiss Embassy in Damascus. In March, in the framework of “Francophonie,” we shall organize a concert in Damascus for Swiss rapper Greis. I myself studied Arabic in Damascus and Aleppo thirty years ago, and I am delighted to be back in this fascinating country.