Switzerland hopeful for joint economic commission’s meeting in Baku

The bilateral economic relations between Switzerland and Azerbaijan, while they are already good, certainly have potential for further development, Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) told Report.

“The Joint Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation between our two countries is an important platform to discuss ways to develop them. We hope that the Commission will be in a position to meet in Baku in 2022, following its latest meeting in Berne (Switzerland) in 2019,” SECO said in the message.

As with many other countries, due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, total trade figures between Switzerland and Azerbaijan declined in 2020, compared to 2019.

“With the gradual easing of restrictions thanks to the progress of vaccination, we are confident that the trade figures will increase again,” the message noted.

“Regarding international cooperation, Switzerland’s new Regional Program South Caucasus 2022-2025 will be released soon. In line with the current engagement, macroeconomic stability and supporting a conducive business environment will be the cornerstones of the cooperation. Furthermore, Switzerland plans to maintain its engagement in other fields, such as the promotion of Women's Economic Empowerment, climate change and culture.”

In particular, the secretariat noted that nowadays, Switzerland’s engagement in Azerbaijan is mainly focused on macroeconomic stability and development of the private sector, through projects financed by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs.

As the secretariat noted, the bilateral relations between Switzerland and Azerbaijan are very good and cover a wide range of areas. Moreover, they are not limited to political, economic, scientific and cultural relations, but also involve people-to-people exchanges.

“For example, several dozen Swiss football fans travelled to Baku in June 2021 for the two matches that the Swiss team played in the European championship, despite COVID-19-related travel restrictions that made it more difficult to travel. Also, more Azerbaijanis are again travelling to Switzerland for tourism or business purposes,” reads the message.