Guy Parmelin, President of Switzerland is on an official visit to India. Parmelin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral talks in New Delhi.
Both sides signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Migration and Mobility Partnership (MMP), which 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 5 years, including stays of up to 6 months on each visit, and renewable 1-year student permits.
An agreement was also signed on the exchange of young professionals. It will govern the exchange of young professionals taking up temporary employment in the other country to enhance their professional and language skills within their field. It incorporates 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.
Both countries also exchanged an MoU on Promotion and Collaboration on Transportation Technologies, Mobility Systems and Infrastructure, which 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.
A letter of Intent was signed between Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) which 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.
Implementation Arrangement (IA) for cooperation in Innovation, Technology Transfer and Entrepreneurship was signed between Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Zurich University of Applied Sciences. It 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.
We implemented a historic Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement between India and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries. This is India’s first FTA with any economic bloc in Europe, Modi said at a joint press briefing.
It is also an ambitious blueprint for investment, innovation, jobs, and shared prosperity. Through this, we aim to achieve the targets of USD 100 billion in investment in India and 1 million direct jobs over the next 15 years, he added.
“Innovation, infrastructure, and advanced technology are strong pillars of our partnership. And through today’s summit, we are going to give our partnership a new momentum and take it to new heights,” Modi said.
“We have taken several important decisions to increase market access for Indian exports in Switzerland and further facilitate investment between the two countries. This will help increase exports of Indian agricultural products, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and engineering goods to Switzerland,” he said.
At the same time, we will attract new Swiss investments into key sectors in India, such as biotechnology, life sciences, banking, insurance, food processing, and sustainability. Through these initiatives, we will work together to develop trusted supply chains and reliable solutions for the world, Modi said.
Today, we identified new opportunities for cooperation in military exchanges and defence production. We also agreed to further deepen cooperation in nuclear energy, he added.
The Varanasi ropeway, Jewar Airport in Noida, and railway and tunnelling projects in mountainous areas are shining examples of our infrastructure cooperation. To further strengthen this cooperation, today we signed an agreement on transport, mobility, and infrastructure, Modi said.
“We invite Swiss infrastructure companies to invest in India at a large scale and participate in capacity building, design, and manufacturing,” he said.
“We will soon launch new joint research projects in priority areas such as health, clean energy, and space. We also welcome the agreement with the University of Zurich to build the capacity of India’s science start-ups,” Modi said.
“I am grateful to the President of Switzerland for visiting India with a large business delegation. On October 7, in his presence, we will host the “Prosperity Summit” with India-EFTA business leaders. This summit will serve as an important platform to turn the promise of our trade and investment partnership into concrete outcomes,” he said.
