Crystal Anniversary Ball
Swiss Business Council reach 15 year milestone in Dubai and the
Northern Emirates
2011 marks 15 years for the active business council in the UAE
The Swiss Business Council (SBC) is one of the oldest business councils in Dubai
and the Northern Emirates, having successfully supported commercial and personal
relations betweens its members for 15 years. SBC continues to promote economic,
social and cultural relations between the UAE and Switzerland, with its President,
Peter Harradine recently receiving an award from the Swiss Ambassador to the UAE,
Wolfgang Amadeus, for helping strengthen relations between the two countries.
What started as one newsletter sent in February 1996 to a group of 46 members has
grown to a 240-member strong business council with a busy event and social calendar.
The original committee consisted of nine volunteers who would meet regularly at
Andre Bisang’s house, a gentleman who was the SBC’s first president and is credited
with being the initiator of the council. Today the SBC has offices in Atrium building on
Sheikh Zayed Road, an elected Executive Committee with a combined experience of 250
years in the local market and has a total of six sub committees and groups including a
financial group.
The SBC has and continues to showcase Switzerland in the UAE as more than a country
famous for chocolate and banks, but instead as a country with extremely hi-tech and
developed pharmaceutical, garment, educational and engineering sectors. This was
apparent when figures released for 2010 reported AED 8.9 m export trade from UAE to
Switzerland and AED 3 m imports from the UAE to Switzerland.
The SBC supports its members through a calendar of events and activities which include
presentations and dialogue with influential local and expatriate speakers, introduction
of new Swiss companies in the UAE, discussions with representatives of the Swiss
and UAE governments, and an array of social and networking events to stimulate the
exchange of ideas. The council is actively involved in UAE events including exhibitions
and fairs such as GITEX, Arab Health and Big 5, often working in conjunction with the
Swiss Consulate General and the Swiss Business Hub to better benefit their members.
