India–Switzerland relations refers to the bilateral ties between the

Republic of India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area; the most populous country since 2023; and, since its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy. Bounded by ...

and the

Swiss Confederation Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerlan ...

, which include cooperation in trade, science, education, and culture. Switzerland maintains diplomatic representations in multiple Indian cities. India has an

embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a Sovereign state, state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase ...

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

and consulates general in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

and

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

. In 2023, the two countries marked the 75th anniversary of the Treaty of Friendship signed in 1948. India is one of Switzerland’s principal economic partners in Asia. Bilateral trade includes Swiss exports such as

pharmaceuticals Medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal product, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy ( pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the ...

, machinery, and chemicals, and Indian exports of chemicals, textiles, agricultural products, and precious metals. Swiss companies operate in India through subsidiaries, joint ventures, or branches. Switzerland and India signed a science and technology agreement in 2003, followed by a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the social sciences in 2012. Activities under these agreements are carried out through the Indo-Swiss Joint Research Programme. Swissnex India, based in

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

, facilitates exchanges between the two countries in science, education, the arts, and innovation.

History

In June 2016, Indian Prime Minister

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...

met with Swiss President

Johann Schneider-Ammann Johann Niklaus Schneider colloquially Johann Schneider-Ammann (born 18 February 1952) is a Swiss businessman, electrical engineer and politician who most notably served as President of Switzerland in 2016, and concurrently as a member of the F ...

to discuss bilateral cooperation. ''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

'' reported that Modi said Switzerland had agreed to make combating tax evasion and “black money” a shared priority, and had expressed support for India's bid to join the

Nuclear Suppliers Group The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is a multilateral export control regime and a group of nuclear supplier countries that seek to contribute to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons through the implementation of two sets of Guidelines for nuc ...

(NSG). In the same month, the ''

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

'' reported that China opposed India’s bid to join the NSG, stating that non-signatories of the

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperatio ...

should not be granted membership. In 2021, during the COP26 summit in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, the ''Glasgow Climate Pact'' was adopted despite a last-minute intervention by India to change the language on coal from “phase out” to “phase down”. Swiss Environment Minister

Simonetta Sommaruga Simonetta Myriam Sommaruga (born 14 May 1960) is a Swiss politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2010 to 2022. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS), she was President of the Swiss Confederation in 2015 and ...

expressed disappointment at India’s proposal to weaken the final wording on coal.

References

External links

"Bilateral relations Switzerland–India"
- eda.admin.ch
"Switzerland backs India for nuclear exporting club"
- swissinfo.ch, June 28, 2016
"Swiss want inclusive membership of Nuclear Suppliers Group"
- swissinfo.ch, June 7, 2017 {{DEFAULTSORT:India-Switzerland relations

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Bilateral relations of Switzerland

History

See also

References

External links