|
Robert
Collette
Dear
Members of Canada Switzerland,
It is with great pleasure that I write to the members of
the Canada Suisse Association founded by your
indefatigable president, Olivier Jayet.
My wife Marilyn and I are now back in Canada after 4
wonderful years in beautiful Switzerland. We now enjoy
the good life offered by Ottawa and Canada and are about
to travel to Vancouver for the Olympics where we will
applaud the achievements of Canadian and Swiss athletes.
You will allow us to applaud our athletes a little more
than yours....
For Marilyn and I, living in Switzerland was a dream and
we loved our stay with you. Being Ambassador to
Switzerland is very pleasant since my country is
respected, admired, loved and well known by Swiss. As
you do when you travel to Canada, we sought to travel to
as many places as possible in Switzerland. Whether it
was escaping for walks in your beautiful mountains,
having delicious cheese fondues, skiing in wonderful
centers such as Verbier and Zermatt, where you can have
a nap or drink a beer while basking in the sunshine on
top of mountains without having to worry about the cold,
or visits historic sites such as Luzern, St Galen, Bern
and Basel, we had a great time. After driving 140,000
kms in Switzerland, I believe that I know the country
fairly well although there are still several places to
visit. For this reason and to see our friends, we will
regularly travel to Switzerland.
Our finest moments spent with you relate to cultural
relations between our two countries. I think
particularly of the wonderful festival Pully-Lavaux à
l’heure du Québec and the memorable evenings spent with
Swiss friends and Canadian artists, painters, singers
and storytellers, that Marilyn and I had the privilege
of hosting at Canada’s Official Residence in Berne. You
will be able to meet these artists when you travel to
Canada....
Finally, we will never forget the weeks spent in Davos,
on the occasion of the famous World Economic Forum, and
all the CEOs and Presidents of companies I was fortunate
to meet during my travels through Switzerland. These
meetings helped get me better understand the
entrepreneurial spirit that has made Switzerland one of
the richest country in the world.
Switzerland is an important partner for Canada being the
5th largest foreign investor in Canada with over $ 15
billion invested in my country. Switzerland is the 11th
largest destination for Canadian investors abroad with
more than $ 9.1 billion invested in Switzerland. Both
countries contribute significantly to the respective
economic well being of each other.
I hope to see you on the ski slopes in Switzerland or
Canada, and good luck for the hockey game between Canada
and Switzerland if there is one at the Olympics!
Robert Collette |
