Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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182. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on his visit to Switzerland on 6 and 7 May 2015. [19119/15]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I made a two day official visit to Switzerland on 6 and 7 May at the invitation of my Swiss counterpart, Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter. The purpose of my visit was to strengthen our relations with Switzerland, particularly by advancing our cooperation on issues of international concern and by supporting our important bilateral economic relations. I believe my visit achieved both of these goals and I am very grateful to my Swiss hosts for their excellent cooperation.

I travelled to Berne on 6 May and met with Minister Burkhalter for consultations on a range of foreign policy issues of mutual interest. Our discussions focused on areas where our countries have worked closely together, such as nuclear disarmament, the OSCE and sustainable development. Switzerland and Ireland share common approaches on many policies including UN reform, the role of the OSCE, and non-proliferation and it was agreed that further opportunities for such cooperation should be pursued.

I then travelled to Zurich where I addressed a seminar organised by the Irish Funds Industry Association in cooperation with IDA Ireland. The seminar on 7 May was attended by fund and asset managers in Switzerland and in my opening address I highlighted the Government’s commitment to IFS2020 – the new Strategy for Ireland's International Financial Services Sector. The full text of my speech was attached to a press release issued on that date by my Department and which is available on the Departmental website.

The seminar, hosted by Swiss global financial services company UBS, was also addressed by industry experts who outlined why Ireland is among the best countries in the world to do business and is the location of choice for administrating and domiciling investment funds.

Switzerland is Ireland’s fifth largest market for merchandise exports and, during my visit, I had the opportunity to meet with current and potential Swiss investors, including senior management at Zurich Insurance and at UBS.