India, Switzerland ink 5 agreements

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Swiss President Guy Parmelin held bilateral discussions in New Delhi on October 5.

• The leaders reviewed 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. 

• A series of important decisions were taken to expand market access for Indian exports to Switzerland and further facilitate investment between the two countries.

Key outcomes:

1) MoU on Migration and Mobility Partnership (MMP): The MoU aims to develop migration and mobility cooperation under equal treatment principles, and to prevent and combat irregular migration/human exploitation/trafficking in accordance with national laws. It provides for multiple-entry visas for up to five years, including stays of up to six months on each visit, and renewable one-year student permits.

2) Agreement on the Exchange of Young Professionals (YPS): The agreement aims to govern the exchange of young professionals taking up temporary employment in the other country to enhance their professional and language skills within their field. YPS incorporates an exchange of 300 persons annually per country, which may increase to 500, and a timeline of 30/90 days for verification of nationality/residency status, among other provisions.

3) MoU on Promotion and Collaboration on Transportation Technologies, Mobility Systems and Infrastructure: The MoU aims to promote collaboration in sustainable infrastructure development, with a focus on transportation and mobility systems by advancing technologies and infrastructure in areas such as electric vehicles, ropeways, circular economy, tunnels, and other transport sectors.

4) Letter of Intent (LoI) between Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Swiss National  Science Foundation (SNSF): This aims to promote long-term cooperation between the Indian and Swiss research communities by supporting exploratory scientific collaboration, building partnerships for future joint research, and establishing a broader framework to sustain long-term initiatives across mutually agreed priority areas.

5) Implementation Arrangement (IA) for cooperation in Innovation, Technology Transfer and Entrepreneurship: This aims to establish bilateral cooperation in innovation, technology transfer, and entrepreneurship by implementing the Indo-Swiss Academia-Industry Training (AIT India) program for early-stage startups through bilateral exchange, joint workshops, capability building, and networking.

India-Switzerland Bilateral Relations

• India and Switzerland share longstanding friendly relations.

• Diplomatic relations with Switzerland were established with the signing of the Treaty of Friendship at New Delhi on August 14, 1948.

• 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 Mumbai. 

• During the First World War, Switzerland set up its consulates in key locations around the world, including in Mumbai, to secure food and economic prospects.

• The Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai set up, based on 1949 agreement signed between the GoI and the Swiss Cars and Elevators Manufacturing Ltd, Zurich, expanded its India network, diversifying its activities, and soon becoming the backbone of Switzerland’s economic presence in India.

• Switzerland is amongst the world’s major gold refining centres.

• Switzerland has remained an important trading partner of India. With a total trade of $23.27 billion, Switzerland was India’s 15th largest trading partner in FY 2024-25.

• The major items of Indian exports to Switzerland are organic chemicals; precious stones and jewellery, metals; textiles; electrical machinery and equipment; pharmaceuticals, agricultural products; machinery and precision instruments, leather products, shoes and shoe uppers, cotton, plastics, etc.

• Besides bullion, other major items of Swiss exports to India consist of chemicals & pharmaceuticals, machinery, transport equipment, precision engineering products and watches, etc.

• FDIs from Switzerland to India from April 2000 to June 2025 amounted to $10.87 billion placing it at 12th position globally.

• As many as 330 Swiss companies are present in India with a subsidiary, joint venture or liaison or representation office, out of which 294 entered the  Indian market post liberalisation of the Indian economy in 1991. These companies have created over 1,66,000 jobs in India. 

• The landmark Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) between India and the EFTA States (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) entered into force on October 1, 2025, representing a significant milestone in the trade and economic relations between the parties.

• There are over 29,000 Indians, including about 9,662 Persons of Indian Origin (mostly in engineering, IT, pharmaceuticals and paramedical, nursing fields) staying in Switzerland.