«Being a Creative Economy» (en)
Bern, 20.01.2014 - Bern, 20.01.2014 - Rede von Bundespräsident Didier Burkhalter am Korea-Switzerland Business Forum anlässlich des Staatsbesuchs der koreanischen Präsidentin Park Geun-Hye - Es gilt das gesprochene Wort
Excellency, President Park, President of the Republic of Korea,
Distinguished guests from the presidential Korean delegation,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Economic ties between the Republic of Korea and Switzerland are an important pillar of our bilateral relationship. It is thus no coincidence that just before entering the formal part of your State visit, President Park, we come together at this Forum to exchange views amongst eminent economic leaders from both our countries.
I wish to thank and congratulate the Federation of Korean Industries, economiesuisse and their partners for organizing this event. The proactive cooperation of our economies and your State visit, Excellency, confirm the cordial ties that exist between Switzerland and Korea.
Asia is economically the most dynamic region in the world and therefore very important for Switzerland. Today, Asia accounts for over 15% of our external trade and this figure is rising year-by-year. On trade and beyond, the Swiss government is supporting this ongoing shift to Asia with its foreign policy and the various instruments related to it. Korea is a significant player in this dynamic region and as such a very interesting partner for Switzerland.
Bilateral economic relations between South Korea and Switzerland are excellent and the prospects for their further growth are bright.
Switzerland is impressed by South Korea’s fast development from a poor country to an advanced economy. Over the past years, Korea has become one of the leading high-technology nations. Especially in industries such as automotive, shipbuilding and electronics, Korea is now world-famous for its creative technologies.
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
The Corean concept of a creative economy provides an interesting path to be developed further. What does it mean to be a creative economy? Creativity is coming up with ideas, products, or solutions that are perceived both as new and valuable. In an economic sense, creativity simply means having an idea how to combine the two factors of production labour and capital in a new and valuable way. One may also call this better technologies.
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
Technology is the only economic resource in this world that is infinite. Unlike natural resources, our ability to innovate does not shrink over time. Actually, quite the contrary is true. Innovation is built on ideas, and ideas can be shared without ever being diluted. Instead, the sharing of ideas often generates even more ideas.
Technology allows us to use our limited resources in new ways, thereby generating added value. Let me illustrate this with a simple example: For many years in human history ferrous oxide, also known as rust, was considered as useless waste. Cavemen then had the idea to use it as a colour and paint their cave walls with it. This was the first step in using a worthless waste as a resource to generate added value. Later on, rust helped human beings to find iron ore and they learned to convert it into steel. A material which has generated incredible added value. And just recently, researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne EPFL found a way to use rust as a semi-conductor in solar cells. According to them, it will increase the efficiency of solar cells by up to 10 %.
Our ability to innovate is responsible for virtually all of our progress and economic growth to this point in history. It is not by chance that practically all developed economies have declared innovation a priority in their growth policy. Especially for countries with few natural resources like Switzerland and Korea, innovation is an important source of economic growth and wealth.
However, it is not a policy itself that can create innovation. Instead, it is the potential of people within research institutions and companies that has to be promoted and unleashed.
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
Albert Einstein once said: "Creativity is seeing what everyone else has seen, and thinking what no one else has thought". How is it possible to think differently? To think of what no one else has thought of before?
People and their ideas are the starting point of every innovation. To create a new idea, a certain level of knowledge is required. Only a person with good expertise will also find solutions that offer added value. To be creative, an economy needs to have highly qualified and well-educated personnel. Hence, for new ideas to prosper, an excellent educational system is fundamental.
To actively look for improvements, people need to have incentives. Curiosity may be a good starting point, but competition and potential profit will drive people even further to look for better technologies. For companies, doing research and development is a costly investment. They are only willing to bear the costs when rewards can be expected. It is therefore crucial for a creative economy to protect innovation through intellectual property rights. A well-functioning system of intellectual property protection is essential to boost innovative thinking.
New ideas also need room and time to grow. The period of time that is required from an initial investment to the introduction of a new product or solution can be very lengthy. Macroeconomic, political and legal stability play a particularly important role here.
Companies need to rely on a stable environment, otherwise they will not make long-term investments. Let me give you the example of the pharmaceutical industry which we are proud of. Why is it a flourishing growth engine? Thanks to its privately funded research and thanks to a constant, proper valuation of innovation by the authorities, for instance with drug pricing.
Switzerland fulfils many of the conditions that are required to be a creative economy. For the third year in a row, Switzerland heads the ranking of the World Intellectual Property Organization's annual Global Innovation Index. The report especially praises our excellent educational system and research institutions, the efficiency of our regulatory system and the macroeconomic stability. And let me add the strong SMEs, which form the backbone of our economy. Many SMEs are keen innovators and invest in research.
These achievements are an encouragement for us to continue to enhance the competitive strengths and resist overregulation and protectionism. Switzerland has made the choice not to have an industrial policy as such. Instead, the federal government focuses on maintaining the good framework conditions and strengthening those factors that support innovative thinking.
International networking is one of the main driving forces behind innovative capacity. Ideas do not stop at national borders and, as I said before, the sharing of ideas often generates even more ideas. Switzerland and Korea are both not among the biggest countries. By joining international research networks, we can overcome to some extent this disadvantage and integrate into the global pool of knowledge.
Swiss companies are increasingly investing in research and development abroad to improve their products and access technology. The import and export of technologies are growing every year. To keep this going, companies need an open access to markets.
This is a reason why Switzerland has to date signed 30 Free Trade Agreements around the world. FTAs facilitate trade and investment by allowing companies to operate in a secure legal environment and to benefit from a level playing field in market access. I am convinced that there remains potential to further benefit from the FTA between the EFTA-States and Korea and also to increase the scope of this essential agreement.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let us work together, let us be creative and find ideas no one else has thought of before.
Thank you for your kind attention.
Adresse für Rückfragen
Kommunikation EDA
Bundeshaus West
CH-3003 Bern
Tel. Medienstelle: +41 58 460 55 55
E-Mail: kommunikation@eda.admin.ch
Twitter: @EDA_DFAE
Herausgeber
Eidgenössisches Departement für auswärtige Angelegenheiten
https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/de/home.html
