In Chile, Didier Burkhalter will launch the SuizAgua project which aims, in collaboration with private enterprises, to reduce water consumption. Such projects are vital to the future of the planet, as is it predicted that, by 2015, half of the world’s population will be living in countries with water supply problems. The project launch will take place in the presence of the Heads of the companies involved and the Chilean Minister of the Environment, Mrs Maria Ignacia Benitez. The Head of the FDFA will also hold talks with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alfredo Moreno, and the Minister of Agriculture, Luis Mayol Bouchon, with whom he will initiate cooperation between Chile and Switzerland on climate change.
Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter’s visit to Peru commences on 4 April with a meeting with Prime Minister Juan Jimenez, after which he will meet the Minister of Foreign Affairs a. i., Luis Peirano Falconi, and the Minister for Construction, Sanitation and Housing, René Cornejo Diaz. With the latter, he will sign two cooperation agreements on water resource management. A visit to the Swiss School Pestalozzi in Lima, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary, is also on the agenda as is a meeting with the Minister for the Environment, Manuel Pulgar-Vidal Otalora.
In Colombia, the Head of the FDFA will pay a courtesy visit to President Juan Manuel Santos Calderón and will have a working meeting with his counterpart, Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar. One of the high points of the Columbian stage of his trip will be when he visits projects co-financed by Switzerland, projects designed to support victims of the civil war which has been devastating Colombia for over 50 years. The Federal Councillor will visit the Soacha Camp which is home to about 35,000 displaced families. In Bogota, the Head of the FDFA will also meet the heads of Swiss companies active in Colombia with whom he will discuss Colombia’s current economic situation and the outlook for its future development.
Further Information
Jean-Marc Crevoisier
Head of Information DFAE
+41 (0)79 763 84 10
Further information:
Bilateral relations between Switzerland and Chile
Chile: Swiss support to develop forest-sector in the Andean mountain range
Project SuizAgua: A Water Footprint Project for Peru and Chile - Swiss Contributions to Water Footprint Concept
Bilateral relations between Switzerland and Peru
Bilateral relations between Switzerland and Colombia
Colombia: Engagement SDC
Water: Engagement SDC
Dossier Visit to South America
Address for enquiries:
Information FDFA
Bundeshaus West
CH-3003 Bern
Tel.: +41 58 462 31 53
Fax: +41 58 464 90 47
E-Mail: info@eda.admin.ch
