The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Switzerland to the Republic of South Africa and Permanent Representative of Sweden to SADC, Her Excellency Ambassador Mrs. Helene Budliger Artieda, presented her Letters of Credence to the SADC Executive Secretary, Her Excellency Dr. Stergomena Lawrence Tax at the SADC Secretariat, on 1st November 2017, in Gaborone, Republic of Botswana.
During the meeting, Ambassador Artieda thanked the SADC Executive Secretary, Her Excellency, Dr. Stergomena Lawrence Tax for welcoming her to SADC. She noted that while the Federal Government of Switzerland does have bilateral agreements with the SADC Secretariat, it was cooperating bilaterally with SADC Member States, on programmes in HIV and AIDS, vocational skills development, food security and economic development. She assured SADC that the Federal Republic of Switzerland stands ready to cooperate with the SADC Secretariat.
Dr. Tax welcomed Her Excellency Mrs. Helene Budliger Artieda to SADC, and congratulated her for being the first Switzerland Ambassador to be accredited as Permanent Representative to SADC. She told the Ambassador that by presenting her Letters of Credence, she was now accredited to SADC, and will now be invited to the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of SADC Summits. Dr. tax emphasized that SADC has prioritized Industrialisation, which has potential to catapult the region to economic transformation, and create wealth. “SADC has profiled value chains in mineral, pharmaceutical and agro-processing sectors and other value chains that have been identified in the Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap 2015-2063, such as oil and gas remain to be profiled”, Dr. Tax said. She welcomed the collaboration with Government of Switzerland and the Switzerland private sector in these value chains to support the region’s industrialisation agenda.
The two Parties agreed to continue to collaborate in areas covering HIV and AIDS, vocational skills development, food security and economic development as they have the potential to catalyze industrial development.
The Switzerland Ambassador was accompanied by Mr. Dziki Nganunu, Honorary Consul, from the Swiss Honorary Consulate in Gaborone, Botswana
