{"id":86263,"date":"2026-10-06T18:15:25","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T12:45:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=86263"},"modified":"2026-10-06T18:16:21","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T12:46:21","slug":"india-switzerland-relations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/06-10-2026\/india-switzerland-relations","title":{"rendered":"India-Switzerland Ties"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/IR<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The President of Switzerland is on a 3 day state visit to India.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Major Highlights<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India and Switzerland have signed <strong>five agreements<\/strong> and agreed to deepen cooperation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>MoU on Migration and Mobility Partnership (MMP): <\/strong>The MoU aims to develop migration and mobility cooperation under equal treatment principles.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>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.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Agreement on the Exchange of Young Professionals (YPS): <\/strong>It 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.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>MoU on Promotion and Collaboration on Transportation Technologies, Mobility Systems and Infrastructure<\/strong> in Identified Areas.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>MoU to promote long-term cooperation between the Indian and Swiss research communities by <strong>supporting exploratory scientific collaboration.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Implementation Arrangement (IA) for cooperation in<strong> Innovation, Technology Transfer and Entrepreneurship<\/strong> between the Department of Science and Technology and the Zurich University of Applied Sciences.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India-Switzerland Bilateral Ties<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Diplomatic relations<\/strong> with Switzerland were established with the<strong> signing of the Treaty of Friendship in 1948.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In 2023, the two countries marked the 75th anniversary of the Friendship Treaty.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Institutional Mechanisms: <\/strong>Secretary-level FOC dialogue was established in 1996, Joint Economic Commission was set up in 1959, Joint Committee on Science &amp; Technology.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Trade Relations: <\/strong>With a total trade of USD 23.27 billion, Switzerland was India\u2019s 15th largest trading partner in FY 2024-25. Switzerland is amongst the world&#8217;s major gold refining centres.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The landmark Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) <\/strong>between India and the EFTA States (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) entered into force on 1 October 2025\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Switzerland and the other EFTA States became the<strong> first European partners to conclude a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>FDIs from Switzerland to India<\/strong> from 2000 &#8211; 2025 amounted to USD 10.87 billion placing it at 12th position globally.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Swiss FDI in India increased by 53% during 2015-2023.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Science and Technology: <\/strong>The Inter-governmental agreement for S&amp;T cooperation was signed in 2003. Cooperation includes joint research, innovation, advanced technology and academic exchanges.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Diaspora: <\/strong>There are over 29,248 Indians, including about 9662 persons of Indian origin (mostly in Engineering, IT, pharmaceuticals and paramedical, nursing fields) staying in Switzerland.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Significance of Switzerland for India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Trade and market access:<\/strong> The India\u2013EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) provides India greater access to EFTA markets and aims to expand trade in goods and services.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Major investment commitment: <\/strong>Under TEPA, EFTA has committed to promote USD 100 billion of investment in India over 15 years and facilitate 1 million direct jobs, creating opportunities for India&#8217;s manufacturing and services sectors.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Technology and innovation:<\/strong> Switzerland has expertise in precision engineering, pharmaceuticals, advanced manufacturing, research and innovation. Cooperation can help India access technology, research capabilities and specialised skills.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Multilateral and diplomatic importance: <\/strong>Switzerland&#8217;s neutrality, strong multilateral engagement and role in international organisations in Geneva make it relevant for India&#8217;s diplomatic and multilateral interests.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India\u2013Switzerland relations have evolved from a traditional friendship into a multidimensional economic, technological and strategic partnership, with TEPA providing a major new foundation for deeper economic engagement.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/india-switzerland-identify-areas-of-cooperation-in-defence-nuclear-energy-pm-modi\/article71547191.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The President of Switzerland is on a 3 day state visit to India. <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> Major Highlights <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> \u00a0India and Switzerland have signed five agreements and agreed to deepen cooperation. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> MoU on Migration and Mobility Partnership (MMP): The MoU aims to develop migration and mobility cooperation under equal treatment principles. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/06-10-2026\/india-switzerland-relations\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86263"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86263\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86265,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86263\/revisions\/86265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}