Switzerland

Hamburg's connection to Switzerland

Hamburg and Switzerland have traditionally maintained close relations. The entry of the Swiss shipping company MSC into the Port of Hamburg is a further sign of this. The port is an important hub for Swiss foreign trade, handling around 50% of Swiss exports.

In science and research, there is close cooperation between the educational and research institutions CERN, DESY, ETH Zurich, TU Hamburg and the Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI) - including as incubators for start-ups.

The Swiss architectural duo Herzog & De Meuron created an architectural monument with the construction of the Elbphilharmonie concert hall. Last but not least, the travelling activity reflects the mutual attraction.

There are eight direct flights a day between Hamburg and Zurich. Hamburg is the only federal state in Germany that offers skiing holidays, which the people of Hamburg like to spend in Switzerland. Conversely, Swiss guests are Hamburg's second-largest international visitor market.

HamburgAmbassador Christine Ehrat

Christine Ehrat has been involved in private banking for over 25 years. Her regular clients are based in the greater Hamburg area, which is the reason for her close personal relationship with this region. Through the development of private and professional networks, the Hanseatic city has become a second home; the highlight of this connection is her election as HamburgAmbassador in 2023.

After graduating from the University of Zurich with a degree in business administration specialising in banking and trade, Christine Ehrat lived in Lisbon for several years, where she headed the Swiss Chamber of Commerce in Portugal. During this period, she was involved in the EXPO98 world exhibition, where she acted as a link between Swiss companies and local stakeholders.

In Switzerland, she worked for various banks, including Deutsche Bank (Switzerland) and M.M. Warburg (Switzerland). The latter was taken over by St.Galler Kantonalbank AG in 2018, where Christine Ehrat still works as a Senior Client Advisor.

Expertise for Hamburg

Group of formally dressed people attentively listening at an indoor event or gathering. — HamburgAmbassador Christine Ehrat with her colleague Matthias Kleinhempel, spokesperson for the HamburgAmbassador Network

Christine Ehrat has a cross-industry international network from her current and previous professional activities. Her ambition is to expand these relationships with a focus on Hamburg and to further raise the profile of the metropolitan region in Switzerland. Numerous business relationships already exist in various sectors such as logistics, aviation, catering and technology, whether as local companies or in the form of mutual investments. The start-up scene also offers enormous potential for cooperation. Particularly in the field of science and research, the Hamburg metropolitan region and Switzerland are proving to be proven start-up hubs.

The potential of joint expertise and collaboration is to be exploited at networking events and events with specialist presentations. In this context, a specialist event on the topic of "AI in aviation" will take place in Zurich in autumn 2025.