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New Swiss Honorary Consulate

Switzerland opened a new Honorary Consulate in the Red Sea Governorate in Egypt.

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In 1945, the Swiss community in Egypt (The Swiss Egyptians) reached its peak of 1,600 registered Swiss nationals (unofficial 3,000); following the end of WW II and the nationalization policy in the 60s, the community was reduced to only 300 by 1970. Consequently the Swiss Diplomatic representation in Egypt was limited to the Embassy in Cairo as of end 1978.

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Today, the Swiss Egyptian community rose again to counting about 1,400 of which 900 double citizenships) wih dozens of Swiss Egyptian business ventures in all major sectors of economy, hence the inauguration of the new Honorary Consulate in El Gouna in the Red Sea Governorate is seen as a reflection of the growing relationship between Egypt and Switzerland.

The Consulate

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The opening of the new Honorary Consulate for the Red Sea Governorate took place on October 21st, 2018.

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Based in El Gouna, the consulate is headed by Swiss Honorary Consul Veronique Lusci. The official opening ceremony was attended by Swiss Ambassador Paul Garnier, Swiss Consul Christoph Roithner, Red Sea Governor Ahmed Abdullah, founder of El-Gouna Engineer Samih Sawiris and 120 guests.

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The new Swiss representation will be serving Swiss citizens living in the red sea region and will mainly support Swiss visitors who may find themselves in need due to illness, accident or theft while travelling; the representation will not issue visas or Swiss passports.

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The Honorary Consul Veronique Lusci was born 1973 in the bilingual city of Biel-Bienne; after obtaining her diploma of economy and commerce (Wirtschaftgymnasium), she studied hotel management at the Lausanne Hotel School graduating 1996; next to her mother tongues French and Italian she is also fluent in German and English.

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Ms. Lusci worked in different hotels and positions in Switzerland until 2007. In November 2007 she moved to Egypt, more precisely to El Gouna, where she started her Egyptian career with The Three Corners Hotels & Resorts as Management Assistant for about 4 years.

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Ms. Lusci was managing Dawar El Omda Boutique Hotel since 2013 and became Swiss Honorary Consul in October 2018. The Swiss Consulate is based in the hotel.

 

In her welcoming speech at the opening reception, Ms. Lusci said: "I love Egypt and feel very proud to represent my country in the Red Sea Governorate".

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Dawar El Omda Boutique Hotel - El Gouna, Red Sea - Egypt

T:   +20 65 358 00 63/4

E:   gm@dawarelomda-elgouna.com 

W:  dawarelomda.elgouna.com

Reservation: reservations@elgouna.com or dial 16444 from Egypt

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El Gouna

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El Gouna (or the lagoon) is a tourist resort owned by Mr. Samih Sawires and operated by Orascom Hotels and Development, it is about 38 square kilometers located 25 Kilometers north of Hurghada on the Red Sea Riviera (Hurghada new international airport has a capacity of 10 million passengers per year).

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The resort development began 1989; today it hosts 18 hotels ranging from three to five stars offering about 3,000 rooms; the resort also includes a residential area with villas and apartments offering a home for a population of 24 thousands.

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The resort features fabulous beaches where all kind of water sports can be enjoyed, it also features three marinas, two golf courses, tennis courts, horse stables and many other activities; next to the hotels, dozens of restaurants and cafeterias are available and the night life is very busy and flamboyant.

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Finally, the resort is served by many shops, banks, as well as a fully equipped hospital with intensive care unit and decompression chamber, a campus for the Technical University of Berlin, an international school and many other services including a small private airport.

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The resort is the proud holder of the UN Environment Program sponsored Global Human Settlements Award for being a Global Green Town.

 

Last but not least, and to accommodate the increasing number of Swiss visitors to El Gouna, Swiss Airlines inaugurated direct flights from Geneva to Hurghada.

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Diplomatic relationship between Egypt and Switzerland - Short History

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Switzerland did not have any diplomatic relation with the Ottoman Empire, hence it was not able to establish any relation with Egypt until its independence in 1923; nevertheless, semi official representation was present in Alexandria as of 1909 under the name of Swiss Chamber of Commerce thanks largely to the efforts of the active Swiss Egyptian business community (the name changed to Trade Commission in 1917 and later to Commercial Commission in 1919) while the Egyptian Government had an Education Mission Office in Geneva as of 1916.

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Following Egypt's independence, Switzerland recognized Egypt as an independent state in 1924 and diplomatic relation between the two countries was established 1935.

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Egypt established the Egyptian General Consulate and Legation in Bern at 16 Tauben strasse with acting General Consul Abdel Aziz Ghaleb Bey (who resided in Paris also as General Consul); the Legation was upgraded to Embassy 1955.

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The Egyptian consulate in Geneva opened 1952, closed 1962 and reopened again, while in Zurich the consulate opened 1962, closed 1965, reopened 1975 to be closed again 1977.

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The same year, 1935, Minister Henri Martin presented his credentials to King Fouad I as an Extraordinary Envoy "Envoyé extraordinaire et Ministre plénipotentiaire de la Confédération Suisse en Egypte" (to be performed next to his duties in Ankara) and the Swiss Legation was established in Cairo located in Baehler Plaza at Kasr El Nil Street with Mr. Alfred Brunner acting as Chargé d'Affaires, the Commercial Commission was consequently discontinued.

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The Swiss Legation in Cairo became independent 1937, it moved to the Cramer villa 1951 and was upgraded to Embassy 1957, the first Ambassador was Mr. Jean-Louis Pahud (1909-1993), he served as Ambassador until 1962; the Swiss Embassy is still operating from Cramer villa today.

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The Swiss Chancellery was established in Alexandria also 1935 in an apartment at Sultan Hussein street with Mr. Charles Kohler assuming the post of Swiss Chancellor until 1951.

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The Swiss Chancellery in Alexandria was upgraded to Consulate in 1964, and moved to the Reinhart villa. The first Consul was Mr. Theodor Häberlin. Due to decreased number of Swiss Egyptians in Alexandria, the consulate was closed on December 31, 1978.

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Finally, something most people do not know, a Consulate Agency was established 1937 at the northern end of the Suez Canal in Port Said to be later closed 1961.

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