Swiss president forced to miss meeting with Japanese emperor
Technical issues with his plane meant Guy Parmelin, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency this year, was unable to meet Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Friday.
Despite having to wait for his aircraft to be fixed, Parmelin still got to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Tokyo on time.
He tweeted he was in the stadium next to other heads of state such as French President Emmanuel Macron and was now looking forward “all the more” to meeting Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.
Malgré un défaut technique survenu sur le jet du Conseil fédéral, je suis arrivé à temps à Tokyo. J’assiste en ce moment à la cérémonie d’ouverture des #JeuxOlympiquesExternal link aux côtés d’autres chefs d’État, notamment le président français @EmmanuelMacronExternal link. pic.twitter.com/ZJHqGwdMrlExternal link
— Guy Parmelin (@ParmelinG) July 23, 2021External link
Around 110 athletes from Switzerland are taking part in the Summer Olympics. Owing to the Covid-19 pandemic the public is admitted to the opening ceremony only on a very limited basis. However, heads of state and government as well as sports ministers are among those present.
Bilateral relations
On Saturday Parmelin will also meet Thomas Bach, president of the Lausanne-based International Olympic Committee. The talks with Japan’s prime minister are set to focus on the close relations between Switzerland and Japan in the areas of trade and research, as well as global issues such as the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Despite the geographical distance, the Swiss and Japanese economies have long enjoyed close links. Mutual investment is considerable, and some Swiss companies have been present in Japan for over 100 years,” the economics ministry said in a statementExternal link.
“The two countries have had a free-trade agreement since 2009, and Japan is Switzerland’s second-largest trading partner in Asia. It is also a priority country in Switzerland’s bilateral research cooperation.”
The ministry added that the opening of a new consulate in Osaka marked a further expansion of swissnex, the Swiss network for education, research and innovation.
More
‘Japan suits us,’ says Swiss Olympic president
More
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.