US lauds Switzerland as key partner

The United States Ambassador to Berne, J. Richard Fredericks, says that Switzerland is by definition "important to America and to Americans - and so is its participation in Europe's great adventure of change."

The United States Ambassador to Berne, J. Richard Fredericks, says that Switzerland is by definition “important to America and to Americans – and so is its participation in Europe’s great adventure of change.”

Speaking to the American Club of Zurich, Ambassador Fredericks said Switzerland was one of the world’s “exemplary democracies”, actively engaged in bringing its profound democratic experience to bear in many places, both in Europe and around the world.

He said that, in the new Europe, the US valued highly co-operation both with countries with which there were formal ties and with countries “who choose a different path”.

“Switzerland’s role in Europe, inside or outside the alphabet soup of institutions, is a disproportionately important one,” he said.

Ambassador Fredericks said the US highly valued Switzerland for a number of reasons:
– In 1999 Switzerland spent over $500 million on assistance to Southeast Europe and Southeast European refuges,
– Switzerland’s role in deploying Swisscoy to Kosovo and in maintaining military personnel in Bosnia,
– Swiss actions in hosting the stability pact’s democracy and human rights table last autumn in Geneva and Swiss actions the previous year to host a meeting in Zurich under the aegis of the Partnership for Peace,
– Switzerland’s founding and maintaining of a Centre for Security Studies in Geneva,

The ambassador also referred to the important trade ties between the two countries. The US is Switzerland’s second largest customer and is the fourth largest supplier of Swiss imports.

“Even without those important bonds, the United States would care about Switzerland because we and our allies need its help to bring stability and democracy to a changing Europe,” he said.

Ambassador Fredericks also described the role of the Joint US-Swiss Economic Commission launched in the Alpine resort of Davos earlier this year.

“The commission will consolidate and continue the important work we are doing together to assist Southeast Europe’s depleted economies, to combat international economic crime and money laundering, to establish better regulatory co-operation between our industries, and to expand trade and investment,” he said

The commission is to host a major conference on E-commerce later this year and tackle the difficult issues of biotechnology.

Ambassador Fredericks said he did not want to gloss over the fact people in the US and in Switzerland often saw things differently.

“But let’s not forget that we also listen to each other. When the Swiss people criticize circumstances in America, we take heed. What we also listen to, however, is Switzerland’s counsel in and about a wider world. It is the voice of a friend, and well worth our hearing. It is most compelling when it addresses the great adventures of our times,” he added.
By Robert Brookes