The first of its kind regional webinar “The Impact of Covid-19 on the Swiss Economy”, was held on September 9, 2020 at 11:00 Bulgarian time. The event was organized in cooperation with the Bulgarian-Swiss, Swiss-Romanian (SRCC) and Swiss-Serbian (SSCC) Chambers of Commerce and was moderated by Ms. Katalin Dreher-Hajnal, Senior Consultant for Central Eastern Europe at Switzerland Global Enterprise.
Welcome speeches were addressed by leaders of the three bilateral chambers – Mr. Boni Bonev, Chairman, Management Board, BSCC, Mr. Daniel Hauri, Member of the Management Board, SRCC and Mr. Majo Mićović, Chairman, SCCC.
Guest speakers at the webinar were: Michele Salvi, Research Associate Economic Policy and Education, Economiesuisse; Doris Anthenien, Legal Counsel, Swissmem and Katalin Dreher-Hajnal, Senior Consultant for Central Eastern Europe, Switzerland Global Enterprise.
Mr. Salvi reviewed the current state of the Swiss economy compared to previous years, reflecting the overall impact of the pandemic on the business in Switzerland. Mrs. Anthenien presented data related to the impact of Covid-19 on the Swiss mechanical and electrical engineering industries, as well as developments and trends in the near future. Mrs. Dreher-Hajnal presented the situation with the export of Swiss goods and services, also comparing the data on exports to Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia for the last three years.
At the end of the presentations, the participants had the opportunity to ask their questions to the speakers. Issues discussed were related to: the future of tourism; the possibility or tendency for relocation of the activity of Swiss companies from distant destinations to Europe; digitalization, etc.
Extremely positive feedback from participants from the three chambers was received during the webinar. This motivates and engages the organizers for more future joint initiatives at the regional level.