The Swiss Embassy in Egypt held an event on 28 September to celebrate Swiss National Day. Along with the media, several foreign ambassadors to Egypt attended, including Hungarian ambassador Péter Kveck and German ambassador Julius Georg Luy.
The holiday celebrates the foundation of the Swiss Confederation, which dates back to early August 1291, when the three cantons and valley communities of Central Switzerland—Uri, Schwyz, and Nidwalden—concluded a historic alliance, called The Federal Charter. This ancient pact is Switzerland’s oldest constitutional document.
The national holiday was officially recognised in Switzerland on 1 August 1899.
The Swiss ambassador, Markus Leitner, expressed during Wednesday’s ceremony, that throughout its history Switzerland has adopted a policy of non-alliance, despite seeing its share of major European and word conflicts.
“Adopting the non-alliance policy led to Switzerland taking part in efforts to bring peace and security [to the world],” Litner said. “Switzerland has also become a centre for peace negotiations for many international issues, including the latest issue of the Syrian crisis”.
The policy practiced in Switzerland did not only benefit the country politically, but also economically. According to the World Economic Forum 2016/2017 competitiveness report, Switzerland holds the rank of being the most economically competitive nation in the world, for the eighth consecutive year.
However, the non-alliance policy does not prevent Switzerland from supporting essential issues, such as fighting terrorism, protecting human rights, and motivating investments. “These essential issues are taken into consideration in the further development of bilateral relations between Egypt and Switzerland,” added Leitner.
He concluded that the Swiss institutions support culture in Egypt through organising cultural and art events, which serves to develop cultural relations between both countries.
