ADITYA RAJ DAS / NEW DELHI
Swiss President Guy Parmelin will arrive in New Delhi on Monday, October 5, for a three-day state visit aimed at giving fresh momentum to India-Switzerland economic and strategic ties, with trade and investment, technology, innovation and mobility expected to figure prominently in talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
During his visit, Prime Minister Modi and President Parmelin will hold bilateral discussions to review progress in cooperation across a broad range of areas, including trade and investment, science and technology, innovation, mobility, culture and people-to-people ties. The two leaders will also exchange views on regional and global developments and cooperation in multilateral forums.
President Parmelin will be accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising senior Swiss officials and business leaders, underlining the economic focus of the visit.
A key engagement will be Parmelin’s participation in the second India-EFTA Prosperity Summit on October 7, which will mark the first anniversary of the India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) coming into force. Switzerland is India’s largest trading and investment partner among the four EFTA countries.
During the visit, President Parmelin will meet President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday evening. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will also call on the Swiss President.
The visit will be President Parmelin’s first State visit to India and his second visit to the country this year. He had earlier travelled to New Delhi in February to participate in the AI Impact Summit.
The visit is expected to build on regular high-level exchanges between the two countries and expand cooperation into new areas of mutual interest. With the India-EFTA economic partnership entering its second year, the talks are likely to provide an opportunity to deepen commercial engagement and strengthen the broader bilateral relationship.