Réception avec le prince héritier japonais: Allocution du président de la Confédération Didier Burkhalter (en)

Berne, 04.02.2014 - Tokyo, 04.02.2014 - Allocution du président de la Confédération Didier Burkhalter à l'occasion de la réception avec le prince héritier japonais - Seul le texte prononcé fait foi

Your Imperial Highness
Ladies and Gentlemen
Dear friends of Japan and Switzerland

It was in 1863 that a Swiss delegation under the leadership of a former chairman of the Upper House of the Swiss Parliament, coming from Neuchâtel, Mr Aimé Humbert-Droz, landed in the harbor of Yokohama after an exhausting five-month journey. The delegation was mandated by the Swiss Federal Government to establish trade links between the two countries.

As a result, the Treaty of Amity and Commerce was signed on 6 February 1864 as the first Japanese-Swiss agreement ever.

Today, I am very much honored – and particularly happy - to have the opportunity to welcome Your Imperial Highness, the Crown Prince of Japan, here at the Residence of the Swiss Embassy in Tokyo.

Luckily, it no longer takes five months to travel between our two countries. Actually, the daily flights are very busy so that we might need even more frequent flights to face the demand.

This very fact, as well as today’s meeting, are strong indications of how much relations between Japan and Switzerland have developed and intensified over the past 150 years. The highly appreciated patronage of this anniversary year by Your Imperial Highness is also evidence of this.

As the Delegate of Switzerland today, but also as a citizen of Neuchâtel, the very city where Aimé Humbert-Droz came from, I am particularly pleased to be here today.

The relationship between our two countries is characterized by close political and economic cooperation and also by mutual interest, openness, and trust.

Despite the diversity in geography, culture and history we share many common values and objectives. It is not by chance that Japan is one of Switzerland's most like-minded partners at the United Nations. Our countries vote on 95% of all issues in the same way. Despite some differences, we address the main challenges that our planet is facing in a similar manner.

And we seem to have very similar national sports: Ours is called Schwingen – which at first glance looks like an Alpine version of Sumo.

It is also worth pointing out that Switzerland and Japan both rank among the 20 biggest economies in the world. We are two of the most developed, most innovative and most globalized countries.

On behalf of the Swiss people and of the Federal Council I would like to express my gratitude for the opportunity of this meeting with the Crown Prince after the meeting, yesterday, with Their Imperial Majesties. Thank you for the warm welcome we feel here in Japan. We would be very pleased if we could welcome you also in Switzerland during this anniversary year.

As a token of our longstanding friendship and relationship, the Swiss and the Japanese post were inspired to launch special stamps featuring this anniversary – and rendering it a lasting memory.

Switzerland is eager to use this anniversary to lay the ground for building even closer ties between our countries, and an even bigger friendship, for the 150 years to come. Thank You.


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Auteur

Département fédéral des affaires étrangères
https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/fr/dfae.html

https://www.admin.ch/content/gov/fr/accueil/documentation/communiques.msg-id-51902.html