Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Swiss President Guy Parmelin will hold bilateral talks in the capital on Monday, on the first day of the Swiss leader’s three-day State visit to India.
The two leaders will review progress in bilateral cooperation across a wide range of areas, including trade and investment, science, technology and innovation, mobility, culture and people-to-people contact. They will also exchange views on regional and global developments, including cooperation in multilateral forums.
Parmelin is accompanied by a high-level delegation of senior officials and business leaders. Later in the day, he will meet President Droupadi Murmu, and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will call on him.
This is Parmelin’s first State visit to India and his second visit this year. He was in New Delhi in February to take part in the AI Impact Summit.
EFTA anniversary
The visit carries added weight because of Parmelin’s participation in the second India-EFTA Prosperity Summit on October 7. The summit marks the first anniversary of the India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement coming into force.
Among EFTA countries, Switzerland is India’s largest trade and investment partner. India and Switzerland share longstanding friendly relations, and the visit is expected to build on regular high-level exchanges and deepen cooperation in new areas of mutual interest.
