Swiss President Guy Parmelin started a visit to India from 5 to 7 October at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's invitation. He said account-information exchange has run since 2019 and pointed to investments under the India-EFTA trade pact.
Swiss President Guy Parmelin began a three-day visit to India on Monday at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Indian reports said the programme runs from 5 to 7 October and includes a ceremonial reception attended by Parmelin, his wife Caroline Parmelin, Modi and President Droupadi Murmu.
In an interview with News18 on the first day, Parmelin said the visit should strengthen cooperation. He said the exchange of financial-account information between Switzerland and India has been smooth since the first exchange in 2019.
He also discussed the India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement, which he said had completed a year in force. EFTA's commitment under that pact is $100 billion of investment and one million jobs over 15 years. Parmelin said Swiss companies had made or planned investments in transport and logistics, financial services, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, and technology and electronics. He did not publish a company-by-company tally.
This is Parmelin's second trip to India this year after the AI Impact Summit in February. He described the return visit as a sign of the state of bilateral relations.
No new treaty was announced on the first morning. Officials have not yet released a joint statement from the full programme.
People Sentiments Positive
- Parmelin said returning to India so soon showed the state of bilateral relations