Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Swiss President Guy Parmelin held bilateral talks in New Delhi on Monday during Parmelin’s three-day State visit…reports Asian Lite News Desk
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Swiss President Guy Parmelin at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Monday for bilateral talks aimed at strengthening cooperation between India and Switzerland.
The two leaders exchanged greetings before beginning discussions on a range of areas, including trade and investment, science and technology, innovation, mobility, culture and people-to-people ties.
They also discussed regional and global developments, including cooperation through multilateral forums, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
Earlier, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Parmelin and welcomed his commitment to strengthening relations between the two countries.
Jaishankar said on X that Parmelin’s visit would build on the India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) and expressed confidence that his meeting with Modi would further cooperation across several areas.
Parmelin received a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan earlier on Monday. President Droupadi Murmu and Modi welcomed the Swiss President during the ceremony.
Speaking to reporters after the welcome, Parmelin described the visit as an opportunity to underline the importance Switzerland and India attach to their relationship.
He said bilateral ties were based on shared democratic values, trust and mutual respect, describing his visit as a step towards further strengthening the long-standing partnership.
Parmelin also highlighted the opportunity to mark the first anniversary of the entry into force of the India-EFTA TEPA during his stay in India.
The Swiss President arrived in India on Monday for a three-day State visit at Modi’s invitation. The visit is focused on strengthening cooperation in trade, investment, science, technology, innovation and mobility.
It is 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 attend the AI Impact Summit.
During the visit, Parmelin is also scheduled to meet President Murmu, who will host an official banquet in his honour.
The MEA said Switzerland is India’s largest trade and investment partner among the European Free Trade Association countries.
It added that the visit would build on regular high-level exchanges and further strengthen bilateral relations while expanding cooperation into new areas of mutual interest.
