Bern, 09.12.2022 – On December 9, 2022, Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin, Head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER), received a visit from the Australian Minister for Trade and Tourism, Don Farrell. Discussions focused on bilateral economic relations. Australia is an important economic partner for Switzerland.
The meeting between Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin and Minister Don Farrell provided an opportunity to review Switzerland and Australia’s economic relations. The two ministers exchanged views on cooperation within the World Trade Organisation, free trade policies and potential areas of cooperation in the cleantech sector between the two countries.
Because of its strong demand for innovative products and services, and with investments being made in its infrastructure, the Australian market offers considerable potential for Swiss businesses and the Swiss scientific community. Australia is the world’s twelfth largest economy and until the pandemic had been experiencing economic growth for almost 30 years. The country is an important economic partner for Switzerland: bilateral trade reached CHF 3.7 billion in 2021. According to Australian statistics, Switzerland is the eleventh largest investor in Australia. More than 250 Swiss companies operating in Australia had together invested CHF 10.1 billion in the country up to the end of 2020. Switzerland welcomes the opening of the Australian Embassy and looks forward to increased cooperation in the future.