Excelencia, señor Arnoldo André Tinoco, Canciller de la Republica de Costa Rica, lieber Freund!

Es un gran gusto estar aquí con ustedes!

Friendship is made through contacts:
What better way to celebrate our rich ties than with a party in honour of Switzerland!

I am wrapping up my ten-day Latin America tour right here in San José.
I guess you could say that I already have one foot back home, as Costa Rica is known as the Switzerland of Latin America!

But let's not rush to the end of my journey: I'm still here to celebrate Switzerland and our ties with you.

As a trained doctor, I've always been fascinated by science, in particular the power of science to solve problems.
Even in diplomacy, I think we need to integrate much more scientific and innovative approaches to anticipate and solve major challenges.

I was thinking of making a speech with technological special effects, but Ambassador Derighetti beat me to it last year with Chat GPT and an avatar…
I can see that some people are still shocked by this futuristic speech.

So, I'll stick to a more traditional greeting, listing some of the many things our two countries have in common, and showing how Switzerland and Costa Rica have always been ahead of their time.

And Dear Guests - I'll start with you, of course!

As I saw for myself during the last ten days visiting the region, the Swiss and their descendants have played a key role in shaping the development and destiny of their new homelands.

Many of these descendants – many of you – still feel a deep connection with Switzerland, even after several generations in the New World.

Cari amici,

•   Gli svizzeri arrivati verso la fine del 1800 hanno beneficiato dell’ospitalità tica, portando un po’ del loro spirito elvetico e nello stesso tempo tropicalizzandosi generazione dopo generazione.

•   Arrivarono a “La Suiza” di Turrialba, che tutti conoscete, ma non rimasero a lungo: la leggenda narra che partirono dopo pochi anni per installarsi sulle alture circostanti, dal clima più simile alle montagne svizzere.

•   Oggigiorno abbiamo varie famiglie costaricensi pronipoti di questi pionieri.

•   E guarda un po’, c’è un legame stretto con la scienza, da una parte uno dei nostri progetti di anticipazione di questi ultimi anni:

- Una App concepita con istituzioni locali come l’oviscori, che avvisa pochi istanti prima di un terremoto.

- Dall’altra parte uno dei massimi esperti vulcanologi e sismologi, il Professore Alvarado Induni - originario del mio Cantone di origine, il Ticino - é qui presente.

Mesdames et Messieurs,

•   Cette dynamique positive se poursuit aujourd’hui : ces deux derniers jours, j'ai pu voir une partie de l'empreinte de nos concitoyens qui se sont lancés dans le tourisme, dans la culture du café, du cacao et de l'ananas qui respecte la nature de ce magnifique pays.

•   Ces contributions innovantes originaires de Suisse et soutenues par des politiques étatiques clairvoyantes, nous ont permis d’anticiper l'essor du tourisme durable, qui est devenu une des forces du Costa Rica.

•   Autre signal positif : Les investissements de multinationales suisses se développent dans le pays, à l’image de Roche, qui vient d’inaugurer son nouveau siège pour les Amériques, ici, à San José.

Liebe Gäste

Die Schweizer Alpen und der Vulkan Arenal sind wunderschön, aber es gibt noch etwas Wertvolleres, das unsere beiden Länder gemeinsam haben: die Demokratie.

•   Demokratien müssen sich den neuen Regeln der modernen Welt stellen und überleben: soziale Netzwerke, die fünfte industrielle Revolution, die Erwartungen der Bürger.
Wir müssen diese Entwicklung unbedingt antizipieren, z.B. damit wir mehr kulturelle und politische Bildung unter jungen Menschen und auf lokaler Ebene fördern.

•   In diesem Sinne freue ich mich sehr, die Zusammenarbeit unserer beiden Länder in einem Projekt zur Förderung der politischen Kultur auf lokaler Ebene bekannt zu geben.

Es geht hier um den Austausch von Erfahrungen und Herausforderungen zwischen Ländern, in denen die Wichtigkeit des Rechtstaates in den Genen verankert ist.

Last but not least…

•   Antizipieren bedeutet auch, den Mut zum Starten zu haben, auch wenn viele Parameter noch nicht definiert sind. Dies ist umso wichtiger, wenn es um den Frieden geht.

•   Dies hat mein Land getan, als es die internationale Gemeinschaft zum Bürgenstock eingeladen hat, um mit der Planung eines möglichen gerechten und nachhaltigen Friedensprozesses zu beginnen, der dem Krieg in der Ukraine ein Ende setzen soll.

•   Ich danke Costa Rica herzlich für seine hochrangige Präsenz während des Gipfels und lade es ein, bei der Suche nach einer Lösung genauso aktiv wie bisher zu bleiben.

Ladies and Gentlemen

Switzerland and Costa Rica are two friendly and like-minded countries.

As well as they are two countries that look to the future and try to anticipate it, just as they did in the past.

Maybe people see us with the clichés of chocolate, watches and banks on one side and coffee, beaches and colibrìon on the other (though we are blessed with nice clichés!)

But – and this is a huge but – we are leading (and competing!) countries in high-level industries, for example in medical devices. We must continue to put forward this ability to anticipate developments, for the common good.

However, I must apologise for being the first ever Swiss foreign minister, the first ever Member of the Swiss government to come on an official visit to your country!

You are right, in this regard we have not anticipated at all… but maybe it is because we understand each other so well that we can communicate without having to meet too often in real life.

Que viva Suiza! Que viva Costa Rica!

Swiss National Day 2024 at San José - Speech (en, it, fr, de, es)