Reported by EURACTIV.com with AFP

File photo. External view of the offices of Swiss medicine maker Novartis in Athens, Greece, 4 January 2017. [Alexandros Vlachos/EPA]

Switzerland has matched the 10 rounds of ever-tightening sanctions imposed by the European Union since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Though Swiss trade with Russia has come to a standstill in many key sectors, notably machines and watches, pharmaceutical exports are at a record high, the Neue Zurcher Zeitung am Sonntag newspaper said after analysing figures from the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security.

Switzerland exported goods worth 2.9 billion Swiss francs (€2.94 billion) to Russia between March 2022 and February 2023.

Pharmaceutical exports have spiked by about 40%, from around 1.4 billion Swiss francs to around two billion francs since the invasion — and now account for about a third of all Swiss exports to Russia.

Switzerland is home to many large pharmaceutical companies including Novartis and Roche.

Read full report: https://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/news/swiss-pharma-exports-to-russia-soar-despite-sanctions/