Ambassador Leslie Baja conducted his official visit to the Canton of Uri on 29 August 2014.

The visit, which was the second cantonal visit this year, kicked off with a call on the Governing Council. Ambassador Baja and his delegation were received at the Rathaus in the capital Altdorf by Landammann (President) Dr. Heidi Z’graggen and Head of the Finance Department, Mr. Josef Dittli.

During the call, a multitude of issues were discussed, including the general status of Philippine-Swiss bilateral relations; the significance of Uri to the Philippines and the Filipino residents in the canton; economic opportunities for both countries; and possible areas for cooperation.

The meeting was followed by a briefing on the day-to-day work of the Governing Council and the issues of importance to the canton, including the impact of Swiss relations with the European Union, and a brief tour of the Rathaus. After the meeting in Altdorf, Dr. Z’graggen hosted a luncheon for the Embassy delegation.

As a token of appreciation and as a gift to Uri and its officials, Ambassador Baja gave copies of the reprint of Rizal’s Tagalog translation of Friedrich Schiller’s novel Wilhelm Tell, an Embassy project reprinted through the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) and Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS), Philippines.

Ambassador Baja’s visit to canton Uri is the second after Valais, which took place on 19th August. The cantonal visits are part of the Philippine Embassy’s efforts to further strengthen relations between the Philippines and Switzerland, and in celebration of the 58th anniversary of Philippine-Swiss diplomatic relations, formally established on 30th August 1956. END