India Switzerland Bilateral Relations

Switzerland and India have had cordial and friendly relations since India became independent. The relationship is based on shared values of democracy, multiculturalism and the rule of law. Independent India’s policy of non-alignment and Switzerland’s traditional policy of neutrality helped to develop a close
understanding between the leaders of the two countries in the early years. A Treaty of Friendship between

India and Switzerland was signed at New Delhi on August 14, 1948, one of the first such treaties to be signed by the independent India. The Treaty provided for the establishment of diplomatic missions between the two countries and diplomatic missions were opened in Berne and Delhi soon after its conclusion. During the course of 2008, India and Switzerland celebrated the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Friendship Treaty, an important milestone in the annals of our bilateral relations. In recognition of the growth of multi-faceted bilateral relationship in the past six decades and to outline the future areas of mutual interest, India and Switzerland have decided to elevate the bilateral relationships to a new and higher level by agreeing to establish a Privileged Partnership between them.

India-Switzerland High level visits

High level visits in the recent past have provided an impetus to strengthen bilateral cooperation. The visit of the then Swiss President, Mr. Flavio Cotti in 1998 was the first ever visit of a Swiss President to India. President of the Swiss Confederation, Mr. Pascal Couchepin, paid a state visit to India from 6-12
November, 2003 followed by the return visit of the Indian President, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, in May 2005. The last high-level visit to India has been that of the Swiss President, Mrs. Micheline Calmy-Rey from 5-7 November, 2007. In addition there have been several bilateral ministerial exchanges. From the Swiss side, Federal Councillor for Defence and Vice President, Mr. Samuel Schmid, visited India in November-December 2004, while the Swiss Federal Councillor for Economic Affairs, Mr. Joseph Diess, visited India in January 2006. Swiss Federal Councillor for Economic Affairs, Mrs. Doris Leuthard visited India on 7-9 August, 2007, 29 April – 3 May, 2008 and on 2-3 September, 2009 respectively.

During her official visit, President Calmy-Rey met President Smt. Pratibha Patil, Vice-President Shri Mohammad Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Shri Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee. She also called on the Chairperson of UPA Smt. Sonia Gandhi and Leader of the
Opposition, Shri L. K. Advani. During her meeting with PM and EAM, various issues of multilateral and bilateral interests were discussed. Both sides agreed to transform the existing relationship in the direction of a ‘Privileged Partnership’, based on more diversified cooperation. She also participated in the Fourth
International Conference on Federalism on 5 November, 2007 in New Delhi. Recently, she visited India on 30 August 2010 in capacity of Foreign Minister.

She met with her Indian counterpart, External Affairs Minister Shri S. M. Krishna. Discussions also took place with the Finance Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherjee and with the Environment Minister Shri Jairam Ramesh. The central topics addressed related to bilateral issues including cooperation in the areas of
finance, technology and environment in addition to regional and international matters. A Protocol to the revised Double Taxation Agreement was also signed between the two countries.

On the Indian side there have been important ministerial visits -

Commerce and Industry Minister, Shri Kamal Nath, in October 2006, March 2007 and August 2009, Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Shri Kapil Sibal, in November 2006, Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs, Shri Vayalar Ravi, in September 2006 and December 2007 and Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri S. Regupatyy, in October-November 2006. In connection with the civil nuclear initiative, Shri Shivshankar Menon, Foreign Secretary, visited Switzerland on 9 August 2008. Last year, Dr. M.S. Gill, Hon’ble Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports paid an official visit to Switzerland from 8-17 August, 2009. August also saw the visit of Shri Kamal Nath, Hon’ble Minister for Road Transport & Highways who led a 5-member delegation to Switzerland on 11-12 August, 2009. A 4-member delegation led by Hon’ble Minister of Textiles, Mr. Dayanidhi Maran, visited Switzerland from 25-28 October, 2009. A strong business delegation from the Indian textile industry also accompanied the delegation. An 18-member Indian Parliamentary goodwill delegation led by Hon’ble Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Water Resources, Shri Pawan Kumar Bansal visited Switzerland from 1-4 April, 2010. The delegation included
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Planning, Shri V. Narayanasamy and 12 Members of Parliament. Smt. Meira Kumar, Speaker, Lok Sabha, led an Indian delegation to Switzerland from 15-21 July, 2010. She attended the IPU Sixth Annual Meeting of Women Speakers of Parliament in Berne on 16-17 July and IPU Conference of Speakers of Parliament in Geneva from 19-21 July.

High-level Indian delegations have participated in the World Economic Forum(WEF) since the early 90s. In WEF from 27 – 31 January 2010, the official Indian delegation comprised of Shri Kamal Nath, Hon’ble Minister for Road Transport and Highways; Shri Anand Sharma, Minister for Commerce & Industry;
Shri Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Hon’ble Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission and Shri Shyam Saran, Special Envoy to the Prime Minister on Climate Change. In addition to a strong representation from the Indian industry and a delegation from Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), Hon’ble MPs, Mr. N.K. Singh and
Ms. Shobhana Bhartia also participated in the annual meet. In the recently concluded WEF 2011, the official Indian delegation comprised of Shri P. Chidambaram, Hon’ble Minister of Home Affairs; Shri Kamal Nath, Hon’ble Minister for Urban Development; Shri Anand Sharma, Hon’ble Minister for Commerce & Industry; Shri Praful Patel, Hon’ble Minister for Heavy Industries; and Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Hon’ble Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission. Hon’ble MPs, Shri N.K. Singh and Smt. Shobhana Bhartia also

participated in the annual meeting. There was a strong representation from the Indian industry and a delegation from Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) also participated in the event. An “India Soiree” was organised on 29 January at the Congress Centre which was attended by the members of the official delegation, prominent dignitaries and participants to the WEF.

India Switzerland Bilateral Institutional Arrangements

[i] Foreign Office Consultations were set up in January 1996. Since then six rounds of consultations have been held alternately in Berne and New Delhi in February 2000, January 2003, September 2005, November, 2006, January, 2008 and December, 2009 respectively. During the last Consultations held in New Delhi on 4 December, 2009, the Indian side was led by Secretary (West), Shri Vivek Katju, while Mr. Michael Ambuhl, State Secretary in the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs , led the Swiss delegation.

[ii] Indo-Swiss Joint Economic Commission was set up in 1959 to intensify economic and commercial relations. The Joint Commission meets periodically to review bilateral economic and commercial relations. The 11th Session of the Indo-Swiss Joint Commission was held in New Delhi, India on 20 October, 2008. The most recent, 12th Session of the Indo-Swiss Joint Commission, was held in Zurich on 1 October, 2010.

[iii] Swiss-India Chamber of Commerce was set up in 1985 in Zurich. It regularly holds seminars, symposia and meetings to promote investments, trade and business in both the countries. Shri P. Chidambaram, Finance Minister addressed an Investors’ Forum on 10 June, 2005 organised by Swiss-India Chamber of Commerce on its 10th Anniversary in Zurich. On 2 October, 2006 Commerce & Industry Minister, Shri Kamal Nath addressed the Chamber in Zurich. In July 2009, SICC signed two separate MOUs with Confederation of India Industry (CII) and Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

India Switzerland Economic relations

Commercial contacts between India and Switzerland date back to the early 19th century when in 1851 the Volkart Trading Co. established its offices in Basel and Bombay. It expanded its network, diversifying its activities in India, soon becoming the backbone of Switzerland’s economic presence in India. The economic and trade relations developed rapidly after India’s independence and the signing of the Indo-Swiss Friendship and Settlement Treaty in 1948. The first major investment by Swiss companies came in mid-50s. Currently, bilateral commodity trade stands above the CHF 3 billion figure, which was crossed for the first time in 2007.

Indians in Switzerland

There are approximately 8500 Indians (NRIs) and around 5000 Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) who are mainly with working in various International Organizations in Geneva, pharmaceutical industries in Basel, software engineers in Zurich and para-medic/nursing professionals in all major towns.

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