Leu, an executive board member and head of bilateral economic relations at Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, on Tuesday led an 11-member business delegation that included representatives from the government and Swiss companies. Delegates covered lines of business including technology, electricity and energy, insurance, healthcare and food production.

“More and more Swiss companies have shown their interest in Myanmar. There are a lot of interesting sectors here, and it is a country that is interested in promoting economic cooperation. That is why we came here again,” she said.

Leu said 25 Swiss companies have established their presence in the country, and many more firms have been engaging in bilateral trade, which amounted to nearly US$100 million last year.

According to the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration, Switzerland ranks 25th among 46 countries with an investment of US$26.7 million in three projects.

“Switzerland is a very close cooperation partner of Myanmar in different areas including the economy, employment generation and development as well as other more concrete issues like the Rakhine crisis,” Leu said.

During her visit, Leu held discussions with government officials and local businesses mainly on issues such as labour, trade and investment, framework conditions including calls for the enactment of intellectual property (IP) and copyright laws and strengthening mechanisms for investor protection.

“Myanmar is making progress. European Union-Myanmar investment protection agreement is also at the final stage of discussions in the Parliament. We have seen investment and companies laws, which go in the right direction.

“But there may be some limitations for foreign companies and investors in how much they can invest in a local company and potential restrictions on imports. That is why we made this dialogue.”

Leu said the discussions made up the third round of economic dialogue between the two countries. The first discussions were held in 2013 followed by the second dialogue two years later.

Leu said that discussions over the framework and conditions are very important for attracting Swiss investors.

“Businesses make their own investment decisions, not the government.

The Swiss government tries to provide good framework conditions, for example, on investment protection. We will try to work with Myanmar to make the conditions as good as possible for our investors,” she said.

“We have learnt that Myanmar wants and needs more investment. So, we have to see more conditions. The more foreign companies know about the country, the more they can feel secure when they invest here.”

Leu said Swiss investment in Myanmar is still modest, and the government will encourage companies to increase both trade and investment.

“It is something that has to develop,” she said. “It is not the Swiss government but it is the companies that have to decide where they want to invest. Investors are very popular nowadays. All countries are basically competing to get investments. So, companies should know more about the draft IP law.”

She urges both sides to continue holding economic dialogues to raise awareness about each other’s economy. She describes as impressive the Myanmar government’s performance over the past two years.

“We have seen the government is proposing new reforms with a 238-point development plan. The Myanmar investment law is relatively new. It is something that will help investors to decide for Myanmar,” she said.

Leu said the development of intellectual property and other related laws is important to Swiss businesses, which mainly focus on innovation.

“IP protection makes it possible for a lot of innovations. We will be really looking forward to seeing how these laws will shape our bilateral economic relations,” she said.

Thaung Tin, vice president of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the promulgation of the laws would usher in a new era of economic development and prosperity by encouraging foreign investors to invest in Myanmar and share benefits on a win-win basis.

“It [bilateral cooperation] is far short of the potential that exists. This dialogue is just the beginning of the mutual, beneficial cooperation,” he said.

“We understand that Switzerland is one of the highly developed modern industrial countries in Europe and can contribute greatly towards the development of bilateral trade and investment relations.”

Currently, Switzerland mainly exports agricultural and marine products, minerals, forestry, and industrial products to Myanmar, while it imports a wide range of raw materials and consumer goods from the country.