LONDON (Reuters) – Britain and Switzerland will on Wednesday sign an agreement to recognise each other’s professional qualifications in services sectors like architecture and auditing, Britain’s government said.
Last month the countries began talks on a new post-Brexit free trade agreement, with Britain aiming to boost financial and professional services exports.
Wednesday’s agreement will introduce a system for recognising qualified professionals from the start of 2025, and will also set out a bespoke route for recognition of some legal professionals.
“This agreement will hopefully ensure UK companies compete for more contracts in Switzerland in the future, boosting UK services exports, and encouraging new Swiss investment into the UK,” British trade secretary Kemi Badenoch said in a statement.
The deal on recognising professional qualifications will replace an interim UK-Swiss agreement which replicated the arrangements Britain had when it was a member of the European Union for a time-limited period.
(Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by William James)