MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Swiss business expects growth of mutual investments with Russia within the next three to five years, Switzerland Global Enterprise CEO Daniel Kueng told Sputnik in an interview.
"Next three to five years, I would certainly say [mutual investments would be] fast-growing again. If there is sustainable development … We have increasing prospects between the two countries. And we will do everything possible that this inter-connection between the two economies in terms of business is getting stronger and stronger, basically on the SME [small and medium-sized enterprises] side," Kueng said.
According to Kueng, about 600 Swiss companies are actively operating in Russia, and many others are interested in the Russian market.
"Swiss businesses are also not interested in taking profit of the fact that other countries are sanctioning … On the SME side, there is an ongoing cooperation between Switzerland and Russia," the company's CEO stressed.
Kueng added that the improvement of the situation in the Russian economy and its greater diversification contributed to the growth of foreign investment. There are also preconditions for a small economic growth within a few years, and therefore "Russia is coming back again" in the eyes of Swiss investors and exporters, Kueng underlined.
"We do believe that a growth of the Russian market is a stimulus for Swiss investments and for Swiss-Russian interchange of goods and services," Kueng said.
Switzerland has not joined the EU sanctions against Russia, though it has introduced its own restrictive measures, aimed at preventing people targeted by EU sanctions from bypassing them, thus forging business relations with partners in the European Union.
