Swiss National Day celebrated in Seoul

A reception to celebrate the Swiss National Day and 50 years of diplomatic relations between Korea and Switzerland was held Wednesday (Aug. 1) at the Grand Hilton Seoul. It was also a gathering for Amb. Thomas Kupfer of Switzerland to bid farewell to his diplomatic colleagues in Seoul as well as Korean friends becausse he is scheduled to transfer to Singapore soon.

The ceremony started with congratulatory songs and national anthems of the two nations by Incheon Alpenrose Children Choir. Following addresses by Swiss Amb. Thomas Kupfer and Kim Kyou-hyun,  Deputy Minister for Political Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT), distinguished guests joined the launching ceremony of a digital version of commemorative book “50 years Switzerland-Korea” (www.swissembassynews.kr/50years) which illustrates bilateral cooperations between the two nations in the fields of political, economy, cultural, science and technology  that have been made in the last 50 years since their establishment of diplomatic relationship in 1962. 

Jan Bremer, honorary consul of Switzerland in Busan; Bae Young-han, third vice secretary general of the Organizing Committee for Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea, who was newly designated as Korean Amb. to Switzerland; Jang Song-hyun, honorary chairman of the Swiss Korean Business Council;  Vice Chairwoman Kim Young-joo, vice chairwoman of Daesung Group Korea dot.com, were among the chief guests. A lot of envoys residing in Seoul, particularly those from European nations, including Ambs. Pierre Clement Dubuisson of Belgium, Tomasz Kozlowski of the EU, Paul Menkfeld of the Netherlands, Dusan Bella of Slovakia, and Slobodan Marinkovic of Serbia attended the reception. 

Amb. Kupfer, seventh from right, launches a digital version of commemorative book "50 Years Switzerland-Korea" in the reception.

The following is an excerpt of speech, delivered by outgoing Amb. Thomas Kupfer of Switzerland to Korea. -Ed.

Thank you very much to have joined us tonight to celebrate with us on August 1st the 721th birthday of Switzerland. Yes, the history tells us that the first alliance of the three original Swiss cantons was concluded more than 700 years ago, in 1291.

Today, Switzerland is a country still blessed with a beautiful mountain nature, tasty chocolate, cheese, the yodeling as we have just heard so nicely performed by the Children Choir from Incheon, and last but not least, our famous Swiss watches.

As I explained often to our Korean friends: Switzerland has developed over the years from Heidi-land to Hi-Tech-land.

These elements are also the basis of our very successful bilateral cooperation. This cooperation has strongly developed since Switzerland and Korea established diplomatic relations 50 years ago.

To mention just the most significant factors of our cooperation: An important presence of Swiss Companies in Korea with major investments, Intensive trade relations supported since 2006 by the FTA Switzerland/EFTA with Korea, an increased cooperation in the field of science and technology with a bilateral agreement, a growing number of exchanges of students and professors, sports etc.

And generally, more and more person to person contacts, with many cultural projects, often realized thanks to the support of the Swiss Cultural Fund Korea and its 15 Swiss Company members.

Today, after half a century, Korea and Switzerland’s relations are mature and on a very friendly and solid basis. I take here the opportunity to thank the Korean Government, represented tonight by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Kim Kyou-hun, and all the other Koreans gathered here tonight, be it from the government or the private sector, to thank all for their contributions to the strengthening of this cooperation in the past and in the future.

My thanks go also to the Swiss living and working in Korea and representing personally every day Swiss values. A special element in our relations is the presence of Swiss officers at the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission in Panmunjom since 1953 to survey and guarantee the maintenance of the Armistice Agreement.

We marked our 50 years of diplomatic relations already in the spring with a special program “Swiss weeks in Seoul “. At the Expo 2012 Yeosu, we are very present like most embassies here tonight. The Swiss Pavilion “The source. It’s in your hands” shows the water circle all the way from the glacier to the sea.

I take this occasion to specially greet the Vice Secretary General of the Expo, Ambassador BAE Young-han, who will be the newly designated Korean Ambassador to Switzerland. My sincere congratulations and best wishes for your assignment.

I am pleased that we could present for our 50th anniversary also a book “50years Diplomatic relations Switzerland–Korea”, published by our Embassy.

The book, written in English and Korean, tells through testimonials of Korean and Swiss personalities the story of the relations between our two countries and our people over the last half century.

The book was presented in May at the Swiss Nation Day at the Expo Yeosu in presence of the President of the Swiss Parliament.

Tonight we can offer you also a Premiere: right after the speeches, we will launch to the internet the digital version of the book.

I believe this will facilitate bringing the story of Swiss- Korean relations directly and in a modern way to the interested persons, in particular pupils and students. As you know, for my spouse Fiorella and me it is tonight our last official event in Korea.

Amb. Kupfer of Switzerland, right, poses with guests in the reception. Others are from right Amb. Chuan of Singapore, President Choi Jung-wha of the Corea Image Communication Institute, and Deputy Minister Kim from MOFAT.

*The following is an excerpt of the congratulatory speech by MOFAT Deputy Minister Kim.

It is a great honor for me to be here at this meaningful evening to celebrate the National Day of Switzerland, which commemorates the foundation of the Swiss Confederation in 1291. As we all know, Switzerland has a stable, prosperous and high-tech enonomy. It was ranked as being the wealthiest country in the world in per capita terms. The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report currently ranks Swetzerland’s economy as the most competitive in the world.

This evening marks another important event of celebration: that is the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Switzerland.

Over the half century, Korea and Switzerland have developed a friendly and cooperative relationship in various fields from trade and exchange of high-level visits to security, science and technology and tourism.

This year, there were two major international events in Korea : Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul and the EXPO 2012 Yeosu. I would like to deliver my special thanks to the government of Switzerland for its support in making the events ever more successful.

Also, Switzerland’s participation in the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission(NNSC) has been making a significant contribution to the maintenance of the Armistice Agreement for the peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. Next year will mark the 60th anniversary of the NNSC, which will hopefully be an opportunity to raise awareness about its mission and contribution.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is also a day of a farewell to our dear Ambassador Mr. Kupfer and his wife, Mrs. Kupfer-Montefiori. I would like to take a moment to go over some of the notable achievements that Ambassador Kupfer has made during his term.

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