Greater Zurich Area and Canton Ticino start accession talks

The canton of Ticino has always acted as a bridge between the north and south of Europe. With the Gotthard Base Tunnel, travel times have become even shorter. This opens up new opportunities for cooperation.

Canton Ticino strategically oriented towards the north

The canton of Ticino wants to strengthen its competitiveness as a business location and the innovative strength of its economy. It wants to focus more on the north and further strengthen economic relations with the rest of Switzerland, particularly with the Zurich economic area. The "Ticino Business Round Table" working group set up at the end of 2015 with high-ranking representatives from politics, business, trade unions and universities recommended cooperation with the Greater Zurich Area as one of the key economic stimulus measures. The canton of Ticino has therefore applied to the Greater Zurich Area Location Marketing Foundation (GZA) to consider joining.

Cantonal Councillor Christian Vitta, Head of the Department of Finance and Economic Affairs of the Canton of Ticino, emphasizes that "if the Canton of Ticino were to join the Greater Zurich Area Location Marketing Foundation, one of the most important measures to strengthen economic ties with the rest of Switzerland would be put into practice".

Greater Zurich Area becomes even more attractive thanks to strengthened expertise

The accession of the Canton of Ticino would strengthen, complement and expand existing expertise and networks for the Greater Zurich Area, particularly in technology-intensive areas such as life sciences, information technologies and mechatronics. In addition to numerous innovative companies, Ticino is home to important players in the Swiss innovation system, such as the Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence (IDSIA) and the Research Institute for Biomedicine (IRB), thanks in part to the central role played by the University of Italian Switzerland (USI) and the Ticino University of Applied Sciences (SUPSI). The canton of Ticino is also home to the Swiss National Supercomputing Center (CSCS), which belongs to ETH Zurich.

Ticino's location between the increasingly closely cooperating metropolitan areas of Zurich and Milan can be very attractive for the strategic expansion of internationally active companies in Europe. This results in a continuous connection between Zurich and Milan via the canton of Uri, which is also a member of the GZA.

At its meeting on November 13, the GZA Foundation Board decided to enter into talks with the Canton of Ticino regarding full membership. Various unresolved issues still need to be clarified. Formal accession will then depend primarily on the internal decision-making process in the canton of Ticino.

Common understanding of modern location marketing

The Canton of Ticino and the GZA agree that modern and successful location marketing must focus on directly approaching technology-oriented companies from sectors with high added value. The selection of companies must be selective and must match the existing technological and other specific competencies. Irrespective of the exact location of the settlement, such companies bring the highest added value for the entire economic area.

Carmen Walker Späh, Director of Economic Affairs of the Canton of Zurich and President of the Board of Trustees of the Greater Zurich Area, says: "The Greater Zurich Area can strengthen its existing competencies with the Canton of Ticino. This strengthens the entire economic area and gives the Greater Zurich Area a competitive advantage."