Urs Bucher is Switzerland's ambassador to the Czech Republic for a few weeks now. “My very first impression of Prague – the visual one – was overwhelming,” Mr. Bucher confesses at the beginning of our talk. “Prague in the autumnal sun is something unique. Now I understand why it’s called the Golden City,” he says. He has been impressed also from the work point of view: “In the many talks I had at different ministries, the presidential office and with local authorities, I felt that the Czech Republic is a vibrant actor on the international scene and our two countries have a lot in common.”
In your diplomatic career, you have served in various regions across the globe, including Israel, Japan and the EU. How has this experience shaped your approach to your new role in the Czech Republic?
Quite obviously, all my previous posts were very different in many respects. I consider it a great privilege that my job as a diplomat allows me to experience this incredible diversity and to build bridges to my own country, Switzerland. Prague is supposed to be a relatively quiet place, in the best sense of the word. My previous tenure was in Israel, a war-torn region, so I’m more impressed than ever by the success of the European integration as a peace project.
The Czech Republic plays a very active role to shape and to strengthen Europe and thus making our life safer and better. This is exactly also the aim of Switzerland, even if we’ve chosen a different way than EU membership. My main task in Prague will not be to solve problems in our bilateral relations – I can’t see any – but to make good things even better and to seize the full potential of our relations, politically, economically and culturally.
You have a wealth of diplomatic experience from Brussels. How do you view Switzerland's current relationship with the EU? What impacts of synergies does that have on your country’s engagement with an EU member country like the Czech Republic?
Even though we’re not a member of the EU, we’re a very European country: located in the heart of Europe, with regions speaking Italian, French and German, and we also share our fundamental values. Switzerland is the EU’s fourth biggest trading partner – with more than one billion euros per day – and 17,5 % of people living in Switzerland have an EU passport. In many respects, our de facto integration in Europe is deeper than the one of some member states.
Switzerland’s bilateral agreements with the European Union represent a very precious legal base for these relations, be it in trade, free movement of people, scientific cooperation or thanks to our status as a Schengen associated country even cooperation in the field of security and migration. Negotiations with the aim to modernise these agreements and to include new fields like energy and health are under way. As in every negotiation, the last mile is always the most difficult one but I am confident that we will bring them to a successful end that results in a win-win situation. That means that our bilateral relations with Czechia could be developed in even better conditions.
Switzerland is known for its active role in international peacebuilding and diplomacy. In your view, what is Switzerland's responsibility in addressing current global challenges like the security situation or climate change?
Although this may not sound too modest, in multilateral diplomacy, Switzerland does play a very important role – some call us even a diplomatic superpower. Geneva hosts 40 international organisations and 461 NGOs, and the city is also called the capital of international humanitarian law.
Behind the scenes, Switzerland mediates in many conflicts and its role as honest broker is widely accepted. At present, Switzerland is a member of the UN Security Council and in that role plays a very active role in promoting peace and tackling global challenges such as climate change and climate security.
And, of course, we try to keep our own backyard clean, also in the interest of others. Just one example: major European rivers which have their source in the Swiss mountains, namely, the Rhine, the Rhône and the Inn, leave our country with almost drinking water quality, despite our dense population and high degree of industrialisation!
I feel we’re quite similar in our temperaments. And the quality of Czech craftsmanship makes me feel like at home!
Business-wise, what do you see as the biggest opportunities to improve Swiss-Czech bilateral trade relations?
Both countries excel in different industries. Switzerland is renowned for its pharmaceutical, precision engineering and financial services sectors, while the Czech Republic has strengths in automotive manufacturing, machinery, and IT services. Fostering partnerships in these sectors will thus enhance trade.
More and more, the Czech Republic is distinguishing itself also as a location for research and development, in addition to production. Several Swiss companies have already made investments in that field on the Czech territory. Also these investments will help boost trade.
What are your main goals for your tenure in the Czech Republic? Do you have any topics that you personally hold as very important and that you would like to champion?
Personally, I have big expectations for our future cooperation in the fields of biotech, digital transformation and sustainable practices. Our embassy will do its utmost to connect potential partners in both countries, cooperating closely also with our chamber of commerce. The upcoming state visit of President Pavel is a strong signal to further highlight the already high mutual attractiveness of our countries.
Czechia is sometimes dubbed the “Switzerland of Central Europe”. Do you see any similarities between our two countries so far?
Definitely. Our countries are comparable in size and population and some of the landscapes look very similar, not only Bohemian Switzerland. There are also similarities in our national characters. We’re both hard working people who appreciate things to be properly done. The quality of Czech craftsmanship makes me feel like at home! I also feel that we’re quite similar in our temperaments: calm and restrained rather than hot-tempered. At first sight, it might seem that it’s not so easy for us to interact with other people. But the ice is very thin – a smile may be enough to melt it.
Ambassador Urs Bucher was interviewed by Daniel Libertin
Photo credits: Luděk Krušinský
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