Tradition and modernity intertwined last night in a unique and unforgettable picture at the SwiSSSoirée, the first ever Swiss event of that type in Sofia.

„We would like to present the well-known, as well the unknown Switzerland with original music, and typical Swiss food specialties and wines in a great atmosphere”, says Ambassador of Switzerland to Bulgaria Denis Knobel. „We hope that “Enjoy our SwiSSSoirée” will have more editions in the years to come and it will become a tradition for Sofia”. SwiSSSoirée was organized by the Swiss Embassy in Bulgaria and the Bulgarian-Swiss Chamber of Commerce.

The highlight of the “Enjoy our SwiSSSoirée” programme was the musical performance of the Swiss duo Hang&Horn where the four meter long traditional Alpine horn got along well with the “Hang”, a modern percussion instrument which has been invented ten years ago in Switzerland after a decade of research.  Shortly after their concerts at Music Campus Balchik and in Gabrovo, the two Swiss musicians Bruno Bieri and Omri Hason fascinated the Sofia audience at the SwiSSSoirée with the originality and virtuosity of their performance.

SwiSSSoirée” presented the typical culinary specialties of the country as roesti, Alpine pasta, Swiss barley soup, tart with Gruyere cheese, etc. Undoubtedly, the food highlight of the evening was the freshly cooked Raclette cheese, one of the culinary prides and symbols of the Alpine Switzerland.  The Swiss specialties were nicely complemented by Bulgarian cheeses and yoghurt, genuine farmers’ products from the Balkan Mountain Range which production has been supported within the Swiss funded project “For the Balkan, for the people”.

The presented at the event Bulgarian-Swiss Cooperation Program supports 63 project with the total amount of CHF 76 million in various fields as the nature protection, the judiciary reform, the dual education, the civil society, the social inclusion.

A question on the dual education, one of the key success factors for the economic growth and the competitiveness of Switzerland, was the highlight of the game “SwissCross”. The knowledge of the SwiSSSoirée  audience were provoked with more questions about the numbers of the representatives in the Swiss Parliament, the shape of the Swiss national flag, the languages spoken in the country, etc.

Bulgaria and Switzerland in facts and figures:
In the period from 1996 to 2014, the direct foreign investments from Switzerland are totalling 1,623 billion euro.

110 enterprises from all economic branches, institutions and individuals are members of the Bulgarian-Swiss Chamber of Commerce which history started back in 1994.

Last year, Bulgaria was visited by over 30 000 Swiss tourists which recorded an increase with 41.2% compared to 2013.