#WeAreSwitzerland is an initiative we began as an Embassy to highlight and build on the existing partnerships between Switzerland and the UK beyond the London bubble, as well as forging new ones across the fields of innovation, science, economy, politics and culture, which made Liverpool an ideal location for the next leg of our tour.

During our Liverpool visit we started the day by visiting Stadler’s site in the city, with the Swiss rail company delivering 53 modern trains for Mersey Rail to help the city reach its decarbonization targets. Ambassador Leitner also took the opportunity to test the driving simulator for the new trains!

We also had the privilege of visiting the Tate Liverpool where we saw the artists participating in this year’s Liverpool Biennial, as well as the Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone’s Liverpool Mountain sculpture.

On our #WeAreSwitzerland visit to Cardiff, one of the themes we explored was the growing life science sectors that can be found in both Switzerland and the UK, and future partnerships in this area. We were therefore delighted to again explore this topic in a meeting with the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce and some of their members from this sector and others.

Ambassador Leitner also had the opportunity of an exchange with the Mayor of the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram, where they discussed current political and economic issues and future opportunities for possible collaborations between Switzerland and the region.

Switzerland and the UK have a long-standing relationship with common political and economic values, which form the basis for successful cooperation in many fields. Our two countries share a number of strengths: both are world leaders in innovation, research and education, and are home to international financial centres and world-leading cultural institutions. As we visit new locations on our ongoing #WeAreSwitzerland tour,we will continue to highlight just some of these shared strengths as we look to further build on the already strong relationship between Switzerland and the UK.