Moldova and Switzerland to cooperate in High-Tech

Moldova and Switzerland will boost cooperation in electronics, especially high tech. Minister of Economy and Commerce Igor Dodon said on Tuesday, April 3, after signing the protocol of the third meeting of the Joint Moldovan-Swiss Commission for economic and trade collaboration, that the electronics sector of Moldova has a quite good potential, “with good traditions maintained from the Soviet period”. According to the minister, the parties agreed upon launching joint activities in the field of semi-conductors. Topics related to the attraction of investments, trade between Moldova and Switzerland, as well as the technical assistance which Moldova benefits from at presented were discussed at the Joint Commission. At present, the minister says that the bilateral collaboration of Moldova with Switzerland reached a trade volume worth USD 300 mln, by 45% more against last year. In 2006, exports of Moldovan goods to Switzerland increased by 90%, amounting to USD 14.2 mln, and imports constituted USD 17.2 mln, by 21.1% more. The increase in the exports was due to the redirection of the exports of vegetables, textile materials, foodstuff etc. In what concerns imports, the highest shares were registered by appliances, chemical products, wood products, paper, instruments, optic and movie equipment etc. Compared to 2004, when Moldovan exports to Switzerland stood at USD 1 mln, the volumes exported during the last three years increased 14 times. The co-chairman of the Commission, Ambassador to Moldova, Monika Ruhl Burzi, Under-Secretary of State of the Federal Department of Economy of Switzerland, said that despite these impressive results, the general figures are still poor. This is why the joint commission aimed at identifying possibilities to increase the bilateral trade. The cited source mentioned that the delegation will visit the companies in Moldova with Swiss capital and will assess the legal framework in order to find new investment opportunities in Moldova. At present, 26 joint Moldovan-Swiss companies or with Swiss capital are working in Moldova. So far, Switzerland has offered technical assistance worth USD 20 mln and launched over 60 projects in different sectors.