Transportation and Communications [antikvár]

With no natural resources, producing no raw materials and being entirely surrounded by land, Switzerland is only able to survive and prosper if she is free to trade with any country in the world. There are few countries to which foreign trade is as important as it is to her. Any nation's foreign economic relations are influenced by the principles which govern its foreign policy. In the case of Switzerland, neutrality based on two principles: active cooperation and avail'ability, has always served as a guarantee that her foreign trading will not be restricted. This readiness to cooperate stems from an attitűdé which is resolutely liberalas far as trading isconcerned. Asa result, oneof Switzerland's chief objectives is to play a part in creating and maintaining conditions which favour the growth of international trade. The Swiss authorities approve and support efforts made in this direction on a multilateral basis; they also do everything they can to foster bilateral relations. These factors have certainly helped to bring about constant growth in the country's foreign trade. However, the fact that Switzerland's share of international trade by far exceeds what one would expect of a country as small as ours, is due to other more specific reasons. Having stressed research and technical progressfrom theoutset, Swiss industry very early on directed its efforts towards manufacturing products which are extremely labour-intensive but require a minimum of imported raw materials. Proven quality, great precision and a high degree of reliability are characteristics of such products as machinery, watches, textiles and chemicals, which have gained a justified reputation worldwide. The traditional characteristics of Swiss industry are nowhere better illustrated than in the production of investment goods, whose manufacture also requires a capacity for constant adaptation and a strong sense of service. In this connection the cooperation of Swiss manufacturers and consultants is very much sought after. Whilst their activities cover many different fields, it is in the installation and development of infrastructure that they are able to make their greatest contribution.