{"id":96907,"date":"2018-10-24T21:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-10-24T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=15a8a2c3face67abba706b26164c06cb"},"modified":"2018-10-24T21:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-10-24T21:00:00","slug":"press-release-foreign-secretary-in-first-bilateral-visit-to-switzerland-for-more-than-20-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=96907","title":{"rendered":"Press release: Foreign Secretary in first bilateral visit to Switzerland for more than 20 years"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has arrived in Switzerland for the first bilateral visit by the UK\u2019s most senior diplomat since 1996.<\/p>\n

Both the UK and Switzerland are renegotiating their relations with the EU, with both seeking to protect national sovereignty whilst holding high ambitions for close co-operation with the EU across a broad range of areas.<\/p>\n

The UK and Switzerland enjoy close ties through trade, culture and shared values, and work closely together to tackle many global challenges of the present day.<\/p>\n

The Foreign Secretary said:<\/p>\n

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Both the UK and Switzerland are proud, independently-minded nations, but we both understand the value of having a deep and close relationship with the EU.<\/p>\n

While our own EU exit negotiations progress, we are also working hard with our friends in Switzerland to ensure our bilateral relations continue to flourish for many years to come.<\/p>\n

Trade between our two countries is worth more than \u00a330 billion a year; together we host all of the \u2018top 10\u2019 universities in Europe; and we continue to unite in tackling many global issues, including modern slavery and cyber crime.<\/p>\n

This visit will allow me to continue important discussions with the President and Foreign Minister on the huge potential for greater co-operation between two great European nations.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Further information<\/h3>\n