Page 52 - Hull's School Yearbook 2018-2019

that"metaphor"further."Switzerland"matters"increasingly"to"the"UK:"we’ll" soon"be"EU’s"closest"and"most"significant"two"European"partners."The"UK" Foreign"Secretary"Jeremy"Hunt"visited"Berne"last"year"–"the"first"such"visit" for"22"years."He"wrote"an"article"in"the"Neue"Zurcher"Zeitung"in"which"he" pointed"to"common"UK"and"Swiss"national"temperaments."He"noted"that" 100"years"ago,"a"former"Professor"at"the"University"of"Geneva"lauded"the" UKOSwiss"relationship"through"the"analogy"of"the"British"as"mountaineers" of"the"sea"and"the"Swiss"as"navigators"of"the"Alps,"with"a"mutual" attachment"to"liberty."Although"these"markedly"different"environments" have"bred"differences"between"the"British"and"the"Swiss"–"the"UK"as"an" island"nation"surrounded"by"the"sea,"and"Switzerland"as"a"nation" surrounded"by"mountains"–"it"has"also"produced"some"common"traits." These"traits"include"a"sense"of"selfOsufficiency,"practicality,"a"desire"to"be" our"own"master"and"a"strong"love"of"freedom."It"strikes"me"the"same" themes"come"through"in"certain"Swiss"and"UK"children’s"literature"too," such"as"Heidi"and"Robinson"Crusoe.""
" In"his"article,"the"Foreign"Secretary"went"on"to"make"the"connection"with" shared"political"outlooks"of"the"UK"and"Switzerland,"where"we"are" independently"minded"and"fiercely"sovereign"in"our"own"right,"but"no"less" committed"to"collective"international"engagement"for"mutual"benefit," furthering"shared"values"of"democracy,"accountable"governance," commitment"to"liberty"and"leadership"to"support"international"rules"and" prevent"humanitarian"concerns."UK"and"Switzerland"are"working"together" to"defend"these"essential"values"that"are"increasingly"under"threat."
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