The Swiss Business Council (SBC) Dubai & Northern Emirates will celebrate two successful decades of bilateral trade co-operation with the UAE next month, with a gala event for key partners, government invitees and the Swiss business community, set to take place at The Fairmont Palm Hotel & Resort in Dubai on Oct. 7, 2016. "More than 200 guests are expected for what promises to be an unforgettable evening of fine dining and entertainment. I wish that the founding fathers were here to enjoy this historic event," said Peter Harradine, President of the Swiss Business Council Dubai & Northern Emirates. The highlight of the gala evening will be the Lord of the Matterhorn award, which is named after Switzerland's most famous mountain. "The award is granted to a UAE citizen who has contributed to the ongoing success of the council and enhanced its presence in the UAE," said Michelle Gebert, Executive Director, Swiss Business Council Dubai & Northern Emirates. Previous recipients of the Lord of the Matterhorn award include, Hamad Buamim, President and CEO of Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry. A non-profit organization licensed by the UAE Chambers of Commerce & Industry, and established in 1996, the Swiss Business Council was formed to promote the interests and activities of companies and individuals with commercial interests between the UAE and Switzerland and to promote social and cultural relations between the two countries. Today the SBC has an active and enthusiastic membership base of over 250 members including major Swiss multinationals. "Switzerland is one of the UAE's strategic trade partners in Europe with Swiss-UAE bilateral trade in 2015 amounting to almost AED33.6 billion, with UAE imports accounting for over AED19.5 billion and exports worth more than AED14.1 billion. The UAE remains the top export market within the GCC for Switzerland, ahead of Saudi Arabia which imports Swiss goods and services worth over AED 18 billion annually," added Gebert. Valued at AED 11.4 billion, jewelry and precious metals, were the top Swiss export products to the UAE in 2015, ahead of AED 3.63 billion worth of watches. Machinery, pharmaceuticals, aircraft and vehicles come next with export values totaling AED 1.03 billion, AED 867 million and AED 639 million respectively. Exports of cosmetics and beauty products, as well as optical and medical equipment are also growing steadily. Emphasising the strong trade links that exist between the two countries, Switzerland became the first country that agreed to participate in Expo 2020, investing AED 57 million in the Swiss Pavilion – which will be built on the Expo site, to present Swiss research capacity and innovation in the fields of renewable energies, mobility and the environment. In terms of sustainability and innovation, this year's gala dinner comes hard on the heels of another milestone for the Swiss business community. During the last 12 months Swiss-born technology has once again garnered world attention with the world's first solar plane, piloted by its Swiss founders and co-creators Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, circumnavigating the globe in what has been hailed as a breakthrough for clean energy technology. Another example of Swiss-UAE collaboration came in May this year, at a special event organized by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and the Environmental Group of the Swiss Business Council, which was attended by HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Managing Director and CEO of DEWA and HE Christian Watts, Consul General of the Consulate General of Switzerland. Over 100 senior Swiss executives from companies specializing in energy, water and the environment participated in the event. Ideas, expertise and experiences were exchanged, to encourage lateral thinking, aimed at supporting DEWA's contribution towards Dubai government's 2021 sustainability and environmental goals.
