Top Top ten: ten: Swiss Swiss abroad abroad 2017 2017 2.87 2.77 Germany 1.52 0.42 0.40 0.33 0.29 Netherlands USA Greece Austria 0 Spain 0.5 UK 0.57 1.0 Portugal 1.06 1.5 France 16,200 | 2.2% Austria 19,900 | 2.6% Israel 23,500 | 3.1% Spain 24,900 | 3.3% Australia 39,700 | 5.3% 35,000 | 4.7% 49,600 | 6.6% 2.0 UK Canada USA France 0 Germany 50,000 2.5 Italy 100,000 79,900 | 10.6% 150, 000 3.0 Italy 3.5 3.19 200,000 88,600 | 11.8% Travel destinations Number of overnight stays in million 196,300 | 26.1% Swiss nationals living abroad Number of persons Source: Swiss Federal Statistical Office 3.3.2. Foreign policy is also foreign economic policy Switzerland generates more than of half of its GDP abroad. Since 1995, its trade-to-GDP ratio – i.e. the sum of exports and imports measured as a share of gross domestic product – has risen from 69% to over 90%. In addition to multinationals, two-thirds of Swiss SMEs also operate internationally. Of the 5,000 Swiss companies with fixed places of business abroad, 4,000 are SMEs. Swiss companies have created two million jobs abroad through direct investment. Three quarters of all Swiss employees work for companies involved in international trade. The Swiss export industry contributes significantly to Switzerland’s prosperity. In some cases, technological upheaval and growing geopolitical tension present it with major challenges: competition is fiercer than ever and market access more difficult. In future, the Swiss economy will no longer have the same exclusive access to the innovations and technology developments on which its success is based. Currency risks must be added to this scenario. The euro has fallen by more than 30% in value against the Swiss franc since it was first introduced. A scenario in which the two currencies reach parity cannot be ruled out. The extent to which central banks will still be able to intervene in future remains uncertain. Great-power rivalries are also having an effect on currency movements. Russia and China are calling the US dollar into question as a reserve currency and have reduced their purchas- 25 2028 Foreign Policy Vision es of US Treasuries. Experts doubt that Switzerland would be able to handle a further exchange rate shock as well as it did in 2015. Commitment to a successful Swiss export industry should be put back at the heart of Swiss foreign policy. It is true that this topic has always been part of foreign policy and that the external network plays an important role in this respect. Nevertheless, the FDFA should attach greater importance to promoting foreign trade interests and should coordinate closely with the other competent agencies in doing so. Despite the administrative lines that separate them, foreign and trade policy should be thought of as one. The whole-of-government approach that has proven its worth in migration and health policy points the way forward. More market access, more legal certainty and proper protection for innovations are topics that should be placed high up on the bilateral and multilateral foreign policy agenda. Air transport connections are another factor of importance to the Swiss economy. The agendas being set by international organisations are becoming more important. This is especially true in relation to issues such as climate change that cut across countries and remits. Although these topics are not being addressed by trade organisations, they are relevant to global trade and have the ability to distort it. Stepping up foreign policy engagement in this area will only be successful, however, if Switzerland develops a common agenda for its export and domestic economies. That way, trade-offs between further free