"I know that there have been several important international competitions in Baku. For example, shortly after my arrival in 2019, I attended the European Youth Olympic Festival, in which a large Swiss delegation participated. I have perfect memories of it," Ambassador of Switzerland to Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan Muriel Peneveyre said in an exclusive interview with Report.
The ambassador also spoke about her interest in sports: "I am trying to follow significant sports events in the news, whether it's football, gymnastics, skiing or other sports. As a Swiss citizen, there is another sport that I would like to mention: tennis. Grand champion Roger Federer is Swiss, and we are very proud of him. Gymnastics is popular both in Azerbaijan and in Switzerland. The Swiss city of Basel has just hosted the European Artistic Gymnastics Championships (21-25 April 2021), with the participation of Azerbaijan's national team.
"Both Switzerland and Azerbaijan are fortunate to have varied landscapes, including high mountains. In Switzerland, skiing is called the 'national sport' because of its long-standing popularity. Even if I haven't visited them yet due to the pandemic, I know there are well-functioning ski resorts located in impressive settings in Azerbaijan. I hope that skiing will become even more popular and develop further, thus attracting Azerbaijani and foreign tourists to the regions," Peneveyre said.