Embassy of the United States Bern, Switzerland

Ambassador Beyer (back row, fith from right), Mrs. Beyer (front row, first from right), Yvette Saint-Andre (front row, second from right) and DCM Susan Elbow (front row, third from right) with guests at luncheon.

U.S. Department of State Alpine Unit Chief Yvette Saint-Andre visited Embassy Bern October 17-20.  Saint-Andre held meetings with officials from the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs and representatives of the Swiss Bankers Association.  She also met with the Swiss Foreign Affairs Americas desk to discuss the U.S.-Switzerland Joint Working Group meeting scheduled for November 17 in Washington.  Traveling to Basel and Zurich, she toured the headquarters of the multinational pharmaceutical company Novartis and attended a panel discussion on the Arab Spring hosted by Swiss think tank Avenir-Suisse.  On October 18, the Ambassador and Mrs. Beyer hosted a luncheon in Saint-Andre’s honor.