His Excellency Dato’ Mahinder Singh presented his Letters of Credence to the President of the Swiss Confederation, His Excellency Johann N. Schneider-Ammann, in a simple yet elegant ceremony on Thursday. The presentation took place at the Federal Palace in the Swiss capital of Bern.
During the discussion following the ceremony, President Schneider-Ammann, who is also the Head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER) highlighted his last visit to Malaysia in 2012 where he had led a trade and research delegation. He acknowledged the close trade and economic relations that exist between both countries. The topic of the ongoing negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) between Malaysia and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) member states was raised. EFTA comprises of Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland.
In turn, Dato’ Mahinder expressed Malaysia’s interest to collaborate with Switzerland in areas of investment, high technology, tertiary education and innovation.
This is Dato’ Mahinder’s third stint as Ambassador, having previously served as the Ambassador of Malaysia to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the Ambassador to the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal prior to that.
Dato’ Mahinder replaces Dato’ Mohd Zulkephli Mohd. Nor, who passed away at post in early 2016.