SWITZERLAND opened a consulate in Guangzhou yesterday, which is expected to facilitate visa applications from Guangdong residents and strengthen ties between the province and Switzerland.

The consulate will start processing group visas Wednesday and individual visas Dec. 1, vice president of Swiss Confederation and Minister of Foreign Affairs Micheline Calmy-Rey told a news conference at the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou yesterday.

"Guangdong is a very important place," said Calmy-Rey, adding that one third of Chinese tourists in Europe come from Guangdong, and Switzerland receives 35,000 visa applications from Guangdong annually.

The Pearl River Delta region's economic growth is attracting an increasing number of Swiss companies. Currently, about 100 firms are doing business here. Swiss investments are largely in the electrical, machinery, pharmaceutical and food sectors.

However, Calmy-Rey acknowledged that there is great potential for cooperation between Guangdong and Switzerland, although a growing number of Swiss companies are entering Guangdong.

Werner E. Nievergelt, Swiss consul-general in Guangzhou, also invited Chinese companies to invest in Switzerland. "We have many favorable policies," said Nievergelt.

He said he had been to Shenzhen on a number of occasions and Shenzhen is one of his "main points of work." "There are many Swiss companies in Shenzhen and I'm contacting them. I'm also meeting all institutions in Shenzhen to build cultural exchanges," he said.

The new consulate, whose consular district covers the provinces of Guangdong, Fujian and Hainan as well as Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is Switzerland's fourth diplomatic office in China after Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Earlier yesterday afternoon, Calmy-Rey opened an exhibition on contemporary Swiss design at the Guangdong Museum of Art. The exhibition is displaying the works of 11 established and 11 upcoming designers, who display a humorous touch not traditionally associated with Switzerland.

Editor: Yan