Mexico–Switzerland relations

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Mexico-Switzerland relations
Map indicating locations of Mexico and Switzerland

Mexico
Switzerland

Mexico–Switzerland relations refers to the diplomatic relations between Mexico and Switzerland. Both nations are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the United Nations.

History[]

Official contact between Mexico and Switzerland was established in 1827. That same year, Switzerland opened a diplomatic office in Mexico City. In 1832, both nations signed a treaty of Friendship and Commerce and Mexico opened a diplomatic office in Basel. In 1945, both nations officially established diplomatic relations and in 1946, Mexico opened a diplomatic office in Bern. In 1958, both nations elevated their diplomatic missions to embassies.[1]

Switzerland maintains a high-level international profile due to it hosting several UN agencies and other international organizations in Geneva. Each year, the World Economic Forum is held in Davos and high-level Mexican officials, including the Mexican President; travel to Switzerland to meet with Swiss politicians and business persons.

In 2018, approximately 5,219 Swiss citizens resided in Mexico.[2] In 2021, both nations celebrated 75 years of diplomatic relations.[3]

High-level visits[]

Swiss President Johann Schneider-Ammann on a visit to Mexico City, along with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto; November 2016.

High-level visits from Mexico to Switzerland

  • President Carlos Salinas de Gortari (1990)
  • President Ernesto Zedillo (1998)
  • President Vicente Fox (2001, 2003, 2004)
  • President Felipe Calderón (2007, 2009, 2010, 2011)
  • President Enrique Peña Nieto (2014)

High-level visits from Switzerland to Mexico

  • Foreign Minister Pierre Aubert (1984)
  • Foreign Minister René Felber (1989)
  • Economic Minister Jean-Pascal Delamuraz (1995)
  • Economic Minister Pascal Couchepin (1998, 2000)
  • President Joseph Deiss (2004)
  • President Johann Schneider-Ammann (2013, 2016)

Bilateral agreements[]

Both nations have signed several bilateral agreements such as an Agreement on Air Transportation (1966); Agreement on the Avoidance of Double-Taxation and Tax Evasion (1994); Agreement on the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments (1995); Agreement on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters (2008); Memorandum of Understanding on the Cooperation between the Mexican Agency of International Cooperation for Development (AMEXCID) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (2013); Memorandum of Understanding in Health Cooperation (2016) and an Agreement of Cinematographic Cooperation (2017).[4]

Education[]

Colegio Suizo de México, a Swiss international primary and secondary school in Mexico catering to expatriate Swiss families; has campuses in Cuernavaca, Mexico City, and Querétaro City.[5]

Transportation[]

There are direct flights between Cancún and Zürich with Edelweiss Air.

Trade relations[]

In 2001, Mexico signed a free trade agreement with the European Free Trade Association which includes Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. In 2019, two-way trade between Mexico and Switzerland amounted to US$2 billion.[6][7] Between 1999 and 2016, Swiss companies invested more than US$9 billion in Mexico.[8] Several Swiss multi-national companies are based and operate in Mexico, such as Credit Suisse, Holcim, Nestlé, Novartis and UBS.[7] Mexican multinational companies such as Cemex and Vitro operate in Switzerland.

Resident diplomatic missions[]

  • Mexico has an embassy in Bern.[9]
  • Switzerland has an embassy in Mexico City.[10]

Notes and references[]

  1. ^ Bilateral relations between Mexico and Switzerland (in Spanish)
  2. ^ Historique des relations bilatérales (in French)
  3. ^ México y Suiza: 75 años de amistad (in Spanish)
  4. ^ Relación Bilateral México-Suiza (in Spanish)
  5. ^ "Colegio Suizo de México
  6. ^ "Mexican Ministry of the Economy: Switzerland (in Spanish)". Archived from the original on 2016-04-25. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  7. ^ a b México y Suiza buscan impulsar TLC (in Spanish)
  8. ^ Inversion suizo en México (in Spanish)
  9. ^ Embassy of Mexico in Bern
  10. ^ Embassy of Switzerland in Mexico City
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