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The decades-old friendly relations between India and Switzerland took a historic and strategic leap when the two countries signed five important bilateral agreements at Hyderabad House in New Delhi. The entire roadmap for trade, investment, innovation, migration, eco-friendly transport and nuclear energy cooperation was finalized in high-level delegation talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the official visit of Guy Parmelin, President of the Swiss Confederation to India. This meeting, which took place right after the practical implementation of India’s ‘Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement’ (TEPA) with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), is going to give a new height to the economic relations between the two countries. Under this, work has started rapidly on the ambitious target of attracting huge Swiss and European investment of $ 100 billion (about ₹ 8.3 lakh crore) in India in the next 15 years and creating 10 lakh direct jobs.
The most revolutionary and much awaited step among the agreements signed between the two countries is the ‘Migration and Mobility Partnership’ (MMP) agreement. Its main objective is to promote safe, orderly and uninterrupted movement of lawful citizens of both the countries, while jointly curbing human trafficking, exploitation and irregular migration. Under this agreement, eligible Indian citizens will be given a ‘multiple-entry visa’ with a validity of up to 5 years, which will allow official stay for 6 consecutive months on each visit. Additionally, a 1-year renewable student permit has been introduced for Indian students pursuing higher education in Switzerland, making it easier than ever for Indian youth to study and do research in the best research institutes in Europe.
‘Young Professionals Scheme’ (YPS) has been officially approved to give a new direction to the skill development and career growth of the youth of both the countries. Under this arrangement, qualified young professionals from India and Switzerland will be exchanged for a limited period. In the initial phase, every year 300-300 young professionals from both the countries will get the opportunity to visit each other’s country and gain direct employment and practical work experience in corporate companies, financial institutions and technology firms. With mutual consent of both the governments, this quota can be increased to 500 professionals per year in future. This will directly help Indian IT, engineering and management professionals to understand international work culture, learn foreign languages and build global networks.
A detailed agreement has been signed between the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways of India and the Federal Department of Economic Affairs of Switzerland in the field of infrastructure modernization. Switzerland has expertise in tunneling, state-of-the-art ropeway systems and sustainable transportation in difficult mountainous terrain around the world. Under this agreement, both the countries will share world-class technology with each other in electric mobility, next-generation urban transport, circular economy and laying tunnel networks in Himalayan and hilly areas. PM Modi specifically mentioned on the occasion that the Urban Ropeway Project of Varanasi and the Noida International Airport being built in Jewar are already excellent and vibrant examples of India-Swiss infrastructure partnership.
To accelerate entrepreneurship and digital economy, a Special Implementation Arrangement on Technology Transfer and Innovation has been finalized between the Department of Science and Technology (DST) of India and the prestigious ‘Zurich University of Applied Sciences’ of Switzerland. Under this agreement, the ‘Indo-Swiss Academia-Industry Training’ (AIT India) program will be expanded for early-stage Indian startups. Through this, Indian health-tech, clean energy, agri-tech and space-tech startups will get direct access to Swiss mentors, venture capitalists and global laboratories. Along with this, both the countries have also agreed to develop a joint AI governance model to make Artificial Intelligence (AI) more responsible, transparent and human-centric.
Broadening the scope of scientific research, a ‘Letter of Intent’ for long-term cooperation has been signed between the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). Under this, a new ‘Flagship Research Program’ will be started for joint research in the fields of Life Sciences, Green Hydrogen, Biotechnology and Space Science. During the talks, apart from trade and science, there was also serious discussion on deepening strategic partnership in the fields of defense and nuclear energy. India and Switzerland have agreed to enhance cooperation in the civil nuclear energy sector, military exchanges and explore new possibilities in defense manufacturing. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed confidence that this multidimensional cooperation between the two countries will prove to be a strong global pivot towards global peace, economic self-reliance and technological innovation in the coming decades.