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Home , Kamal Nath

-Swiss Relations

India and Switzerland have had cordial and friendly relations since India’s independence. 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. 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 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 Indo- Swiss bilateral relations. In recognition of the growth of multi-faceted bilateral relationship over six decades and to outline the future areas of mutual interest and cooperation, India and Switzerland have decided to elevate the bilateral relationship to a new and higher level by agreeing to establish a Privileged Partnership between them.

High level visits

2. Exchange of 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. Later, President of the Swiss Confederation, Mr. Pascal Couchepin, paid a State Visit to India from 6-12 November, 2003. The last high-level visit to India has been that of the Swiss President, Mrs. Micheline Calmy-Rey from 5-7 November, 2007.

3. After the State Visit of President, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, in May 2005, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, President of India visited Switzerland from September 30 to October 4, 2011 at the invitation of Swiss Government. She visited European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN), Geneva on October 1 and interacted with the Indian scientists from various Indian institutions engaged in research. On October 2, she paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at his statue in the Ariana Park in Geneva. On October 3, President of India was given a ceremonial welcome and Guard of Honour at the Parliament Square by Swiss President, the members of the Federal Council and other dignitaries. The delegation-level talks were attended by six Ministers(out of 7) of the Swiss Cabinet during which bilateral issues and international issues of mutual interest were discussed. The Memorandum of Understanding on Financial Dialogue was signed during the visit. On October 4, both the Presidents addressed the Indo- Swiss Business Forum participated by CII, FICCI and ASSOCHAM from India and Swiss India Chambers of Commerce and State Secretariat for Economic

Affairs (SECO) from Swiss side. A 45-member Indian business delegation accompanied President of India during this visit. At the University of Lausanne, an MoU establishing the ‘Rabindranath Tagore Chair’ on Indian Studies was signed in the presence of the Presidents of India and Switzerland and a bronze bust of Tagore was unveiled on the campus commemorating the 150 Birth Anniversary of Tagore.

4. 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. Swiss Federal Councillor for Economic Affairs Mr. Johann N. Schneider Ammann visited India from 7-9 April, 2011, along with a high level business delegation.

5. During her official visit in 2007, President Calmy-Rey met President Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, Vice-President Shri Mohammad Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Shri and External Affairs Minister Shri . 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 interest 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. She visited India on 30 August 2010 in her capacity as Foreign Minister and met with the External Affairs Minister Shri S. M. Krishna. She also met with the Finance Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherjee and Environment Minister Shri . The central topics addressed during these meetings 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 during this visit which entered into force on 7 th October, 2011. However, it is operational from January 1, 2012 in Switzerland and from April 1, 2012 in India.

6. From 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 , in November 2006, Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs, Shri , in September 2006 and December 2007 and Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri S. Regupaty, in October-November 2006. In connection with the civil nuclear initiative, Shri Shivshankar Menon, Foreign Secretary, visited Switzerland on 9 August 2008. Dr. M.S. Gill, Hon’ble Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports paid an

official visit to Switzerland from 8-17 August, 2009. Shri Kamal Nath, Hon’ble Minister for Road Transport & Highways 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. An 18-member Indian Parliamentary Goodwill delegation led by Hon’ble Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Water Resources, Shri 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.

7. Smt. Meira Kumar, Speaker, , led an Indian delegation to Switzerland from 15-21 July, 2010 to attend 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, 2010. Later, accompanied by Deputy Chairman Rajya Sabha Shri Rahman Khan, Shri Sardinha, MP, Shri Jose Mani, MP, Shri Uday Singh, MP and Shri Umashankar Singh, MP, Smt. Meira Kumar visited Switzerland to participate in the 125th Inter-Parliamentary Union Meeting held in Berne from 16-19 October, 2011.

8. High-level Indian delegations have participated in the (WEF) since the early 90s. At 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 , Hon’ble Minister for Commerce & Industry; Shri , 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, besides a strong representation from the Indian industry and a delegation from Confederation of Indian Industries (CII). At WEF 2012, the official Indian delegation comprised of Shri Anand Sharma, Hon’ble Minister for Commerce & Industry; Dr. Ashwani Kumar, Hon’ble Minister of State for Planning, Science and Earth Sciences, Shri , Hon’ble Minister of State for Communications and Technology, Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Hon’ble Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Hon’ble MPs, Shri N.K. Singh and Smt. Shobhana Bhartia, besides a strong representation from the Indian industry and a delegation from Confederation of Indian Industries (CII).

9. On the occasion of India's participation at the BASELWORLD 2011, Shri Anand Sharma, Hon’ble Minister of Commerce & Industry visited Switzerland on 24-25 March, 2011. He also held bilateral discussions with Swiss Federal Councillor for Home Affairs H.E. Mr. Didier Burkhalter with whom he jointly inaugurated 'BASELWORLD 2011' and 'India Palace'. On 25 March, 2011, he visited Berne for a bilateral meeting with Federal Councillor for Economic Affairs Mr. Johann N. Schneider Ammann. Mr. Johann N. Schneider Ammann visited India from 7-9 April, 2011, along with a high level business delegation during

which he had bilateral meeting with Hon’ble CIM Shri Anand Sharma. In 2012, over Indian 40 Gems and Jewellery companies participated in the BASELWORLD 2012. In April, 2012, India participated at the MUBA Fair 2012 in Basel as the guest country. Over 50 Indian companies participated by setting up stalls under the coordination of India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO). The Swiss Federal Councillor Ueli Maurer was present at the inauguration of India Pavilion at MUBA 2012. A delegation led by Smt. Manjula Prashar, Secretary, Department of Posts, Government of India, visited Berne from 20-22 February, 2012 to attend sessions at Universal Postal Union (UPU). A delegation from Gujarat held a Road Show on “ 2013” in Zurich and Geneva on June 22, 2012.

10. India was the Guest of Honour country at the prestigious Geneva Festival 2011 where spectacular cultural events, display of Indian art and crafts were held from August 4-14, 2011. Several Ministers of Tourism of various Indian states and Chief Minister of Meghalaya were present during the festival to promote their respective states. A seminar was also by the Confederation of Indian Industries with the participation of local and Indian business community. At the Locarno Film Festival held in August 2011, India was the focus country in the ‘Open doors’ section and some independent cinema producers/directors received awards and financial support from Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation(SDC).

Bilateral Institutional Arrangements

[i] Foreign Office Consultations began 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 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. Next round of FOC is scheduled this year.

[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 11 th Session of the Indo-Swiss Joint Commission was held in New Delhi, India on 20 October, 2008 and the 12 th Session of the Indo-Swiss Joint Commission, was held in Zurich on 1 October, 2010. The next JEC meeting is scheduled to be held in October, 2012 in New Delhi.

[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). On October 4, 2011, during the State Visit both the Presidents addressed the Indo-Swiss Business Forum participated by CII, FICCI and ASSOCHAM from India and Swiss India Chambers of Commerce and State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) from Swiss side. Mr. Schneider Ammann met the Indian business delegation accompanying Hon’ble President of India separately along with SICC members and SECO officials on October 3, 2011.

[iv] Indo-Swiss Joint Committee on S&T: 1st Meeting of the Indo-Swiss Joint Committee on Science and Technology (S&T) was held on 23 September, 2011 in Berne. The main objective of the meeting was to assess the ongoing S&T cooperation between India and Switzerland under the Indo-Swiss Joint Research Programme.

[v] India-Switzerland Financial Dialogue: The MoU was signed on October 3, 2011 during the State Visit. The first meeting is scheduled to take place in Berne on July 6, 2012.

[vi] An MoU on Mutual Cooperation in Local Governance: The MoU was signed between India and Switzerland on 12 December, 2011.

[vii] An MoU between Indian Ministry of Power and Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation was signed on 8 November, 2011 for cooperation in energy efficiency.

[viii] An MoU establishing the ‘Rabindranath Tagore Chair’ on Indian Studies was signed on October 4, 2011.

[ix] Besides the above, India and Switzerland have signed Agreements on Promotion and Protection of Investments, Air Services, Collaboration in Bio- technology and Cooperation in Disaster Management.

[x] An MoU was signed in February 2012 between the Indian Council of Social Science Research, Govt. of India, and the University of Lausanne for institutional cooperation.

Economic relations

11. 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 Treaty in 1948. The first major investment by Swiss companies came in mid-50s. Currently, Indo-Swiss bilateral trade stands over 4 billion (excluding software and IT enabled services and bullion) despite the Eurozone crisis.

Bilateral Trade (In Million Swiss Francs) Year 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 India’s 737.0 952.1 1101.2 800.1 1010.4 1303.4 Exports India’s 1888.0 2309.2 2406.4 2156.1 2156.4 2986.4 Imports Total 2625 3261.3 3507.6 2956.2 3166.8 4289.4 Trade

Swiss direct Investment Inflows from April 2000 to October 2011 stood at Rs.9065 crores (US $ 2 billion). Switzerland is eleventh largest foreign investor in India. The total Swiss direct investment in India are estimated to be over US $ 5 billion till 2010.

Indian community

12. The Indian community in Switzerland comprises of approximate16,000 Indians including over 5000 persons of Indian origin. Most of them are professionals in Engineering, IT, pharmaceuticals and paramedical fields. Few are deployed in the International Organisations like UN, UPU and other prestigious Swiss institutes like Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich and EPFL, Lausanne. The Indian community is concentrated in Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Baden, Bern and Lausanne in that order. A number of Indian associations actively organise cultural activities and celebrate Indian national days. An Honorary Consul General of India is based in Zurich.

July 2012