MOSCOW, March 20. /ITAR-TASS/. Switzerland will continue active cooperation with Russia in all spheres in 2014, the year when mark 200 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the chief of the Swiss embassy’s economic affairs and science section, Julien Thoni told Itar-Tass Thursday.
“Situation around Ukraine won’t affect cooperation between our countries in business and tourism,” he said. “There’s no doubt we’ll always be glad to see guests from Russia regardless of whether they come to our country for holidaymaking or sightseeing or for doing business.”
“We issue a big number of visas to the Russians every year and we’ll continue that practice because relations between people are very important for us.”
The government of the Swiss Confederation is glad to see the relations between the two countries continue growing in economy, culture and science.
“Russian-Swiss relations have a profound history and the Russian Federation is an important partner for Switzerland,” Thoni said. “Regular contacts and consultations are carried out at the level of experts at bilateral and multilateral levels.”
“Also, Switzerland is one of the biggest investors in the Russian economy and there’s little doubt that our countries have a genuine reciprocal interests in one another,” he added.
The whole jubilee year will be tightly packed with events in music, dance, visual arts, architecture, and sports.
In connection with the jubilee, tour operators in Switzerland are drafting new tourist routes for Russian travellers. Mountainous areas are destined to play a major role in those trips.
“Trips along peaks will help the Russians find clues to the Swiss soul,” Thoni said. This year, for instance, a special travel card was designed to allow tourists to get on to the country’s eight most picturesque peaks without any restrictions.
These tickets will be valid at all the mountainous railways.