Swiss National Day was celebrated recently at the Grand Hyatt Hotel recently. Pics: Baher Amin / The Peninsula
They come from a sports-loving and multilingual country - the land of Alps and their national languages are German, French, Italian and Rumansh, each one spoken in its distinctive area.
There are currently 272 Swiss nationals residing here and made Qatar their second home. As highly dedicated professionals they contribute to make Qatar thrive in the hospitality, air-transportation, education, culture, infrastructure and other industries.
Several Swiss nationals residing in Qatar, together with diplomats and invitees recently gathered at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Doha for an early celebration of Swiss National Day, marking the country’s 728th birthday.
“The city of Doha is barely recognizable after all those years when an iconic pyramid building (Sheraton Doha) was a standalone feature on West Bay, inaugurated in 1982. Infrastructure development and construction have unfolded at a breathtaking pace as the country is getting ready for 2022,” said Edgar Dörig, Ambassador of Switzerland to Qatar while addressing the reception.
“I am the third resident ambassador to your country and very happy to be here with my family and to work with you to develop new joint projects,” he said.
The relations between Switzerland and Qatar are unique and special, as they go back to 1973, only two years after Qatar’s independence. Huge changes have taken place in the social and cultural fields. The cultural scene of Qatar has proven to be a fertile ground for some of today’s best architects and artists.
“It is in this context that our two countries have cooperated in numerous cultural events. This year’s sixth European Jazz music festival, which is a largely Swiss-driven initiative will once again see our participation, a further enrichment to the more and more vibrant Qatar music scene,” said Dörig.
“We have already confirmed our participation at this year’s European Film Festival, a largely Austria and therefore EU-driven initiative, which is set to showcase award-winning productions, mainly from our extremely diverse continent,” he added.
The Swiss National Day celebration showcased many cultural and social aspects of the country. A beautiful ‘Ikebana’ flower arrangement made by the Swiss Ambassador’s spouse, Junko Dörig, was on display. The attractive arrangement was made of red and white orchids.
Traditional Swiss cheese was made as part of the celebration. ‘Raclette’, a native cheese from the mountainous Alpine region of Valais in Switzerland. Today ‘raclette’ is made in various regions and countries of the world. Traditional Swiss songs were also played by musicians who had traveled from central Switzerland.
Swiss nationals residing here for short and long term and working in different sectors attended the National Day celebrations. “We are in Doha for the past two years. Things are improving here every day and we like the multicultural society,” said Dr Andreas Peter Briner, who is working in the energy sector and living here with his two children and spouse.
Michael Buhler, who is the only Swiss banker working for Credit Suisse in Doha said, “I came here in January this year. I find everything very fine here; the country is booming and I am looking forward in sharing my expertise.”
Within his short stay here, Michael has already taken part in marathons and bicycle races during his leisure time.
