This is a reciprocal visit after the Portuguese president and prime minister travelled to Switzerland in June. In addition to the official talks, Ms Amherd’s programme in Portugal includes a visit to parliament and a reception hosted by the city of Lisbon.
Switzerland and Portugal enjoy excellent bilateral relations, which are influenced by the large Portuguese community in Switzerland. The approximately 260,000 Portuguese nationals living in Switzerland make up the third largest foreign community in Switzerland, and Portuguese is the second most widely spoken foreign language in the country after English. Conversely, around 7,300 Swiss nationals live in Portugal.
Economic, scientific and cultural relations have also intensified in recent years. In particular, Swiss companies are increasingly present in Portugal. Switzerland is the ninth largest investor with investments totalling around CHF 4.2 billion. There is particularly great potential for even closer exchanges in the areas of research, information and communication technologies, digitalisation and renewable energies.
Further information:
Bilateral relations Switzerland–Portugal
Address for enquiries:
DDPS Communications
+41 58 464 50 58
kommunikation@gs-vbs.admin.ch
