The President of the Confederation Guy Parmelin will visit Washington from Wednesday to Friday next, accompanied by a high-ranking Swiss delegation. This trip will focus on vocational training, as well as scientific and economic relations between the United States and Switzerland.
The Vaudois will sign a memorandum of understanding on Thursday aimed at “deepening the close collaboration between the two countries in the vocational training sector”, indicates the Federal Department of the Economy, Training and Research (DEFR) in a press release on Friday. The two countries have a long-standing dialogue on the subject.
The document, which is valid for three years, will replace the last memorandum dating from 2018. It will serve as a framework for the implementation of projects bringing together economic and education stakeholders.
A meeting at the White House will also mark the stay of the Minister of the Economy. In addition to an interview focusing on vocational training, research and innovation issues will also be discussed. An exchange is indeed planned with Eric Lander, director of the Office of Scientific and Technological Policy.
Close cooperation
This trip will also be marked by the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). This agreement will mark the will to extend bilateral cooperation and intensify future collaborations between the two financial institutions, specifies the DEFR.
The SNSF has funded more than 5,000 Swiss projects relating to the United States. “This close relationship reflects the important economic interdependence between the two countries,” said the press release. “The United States is the Confederation’s second main trading partner, while Switzerland is one of the main investors in the United States.”
Collaboration in research
Washington also remains the Confederation’s main research partners: nearly 15% of scientific publications published in Switzerland are the result of collaboration with American specialists.
The President of the Confederation will be accompanied in particular by the Secretaries of State for Training, Research and Innovation Martina Hirayama and Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch.
noci1, ats
–
