External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with Swiss Confederation President Guy Parmelin on Monday during the latter’s three-day State visit to India, highlighting the growing momentum in India-Switzerland relations and the expanding opportunities created by the India-European Free Trade Association Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA).Geographic Reference
Following the meeting, Jaishankar praised President Parmelin’s dedication to developing bilateral ties and expressed optimism that the Swiss leader’s meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi would strengthen collaboration in a variety of areas.
The diplomatic engagement comes at a critical time for India and the European Free Trade Association, which includes Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein, as both countries observe the first anniversary of TEPA’s coming into force on October 1, 2025.
President Parmelin highlighted his visit as a significant milestone in the long-standing partnership between India and Switzerland. Speaking after receiving a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan, he stated that the visit demonstrated the significance both countries had on their relationship and provided an opportunity to influence the future of bilateral cooperation.
President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the Swiss leader, who emphasized that India-Switzerland relations are based on shared democratic ideals, trust, and mutual respect.
He stated that the relationship has grown into a comprehensive collaboration encompassing politics, trade, investment, technology, innovation, and people-to-people interactions. Parmelin stated that his visit would expand and improve collaboration while also allowing both parties to exchange perspectives on significant bilateral and global concerns.
The visit will center on the India-EFTA TEPA, which was signed on March 10, 2024 and goes into effect on October 1, 2025. The deal is recognized as one of India’s most important trade agreements with mature European nations, and it is intended to improve trade, investment, and economic partnership between the partners.
President Parmelin stated that the TEPA anniversary provided an opportunity not only to celebrate past achievements, but also to plan the next phase of cooperation between India and the EFTA nations.
The Swiss President arrived in India at Prime Minister Modi’s invitation, accompanied by a high-level group of government officials and business leaders. His visit is intended to foster partnership in trade, investment, research, technology, innovation, and workforce mobility.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, this is Parmelin’s first State visit to India and his second journey to the country in 2026; he previously visited New Delhi in February to attend the AI Impact Summit.
During their visit, Prime Minister Modi and President Parmelin will undertake extensive bilateral talks on trade, investment, research, technology, innovation, mobility, cultural exchanges, and people-to-people ties. The discussions will also include regional developments, global challenges, and multilateral cooperation.
President Parmelin is also scheduled to meet with President Droupadi Murmu, who will organize a State banquet in his honorOn October 7, he will attend the second India-EFTA Prosperity Summit, which will be a key highlight of his visit. The conference is intended to examine TEPA progress and identify new potential for boosting commercial relations, investment flows, and industrial cooperation between India and the EFTA bloc.The trade agreement has strategic significance as it includes a long-term commitment from EFTA to facilitate investments worth nearly ₹8.4 lakh crore in India over 15 years and support the creation of one million direct jobs, making it one of the most ambitious economic partnership frameworks negotiated by India with a European grouping.
.Switzerland is still India’s largest trade and investment partner among the four EFTA member countries, reflecting its prominent role in the India-EFTA economic relationship overall.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the visit shows the continuous growth of bilateral ties and is intended to expand collaboration in both conventional and emergent areas of mutual interest.
The visit also builds on the two countries’ long history of high-level engagement. The most recent State visit by an Indian President to Switzerland occurred in 2019, with Prime Minister Modi visiting the country in 2016 and again in 2018.Geographic Reference
President Parmelin’s visit is seen as an important step toward strengthening one of India’s most significant partnerships in Europe, as TEPA enters its second year of implementation and both sides seek to expand collaboration in advanced technology, innovation, manufacturing, investment, and skills mobility.
