Dear Friends,
MAY I thank you, first of all, for being here to celebrate together the momentum leading us to the 75th year of our Independence and to mark India-Switzerland long standing dynamic partnership.
I have been here in Switzerland for almost a year, and I had met and interacted with many of you during this period, but I was looking forward to this day to host and meet you all under one roof.
Friends, Switzerland holds a unique place in our hearts. Our partnership is laced with a rare privilege. The first Treaty of Friendship that we signed as an independent Sovereign was with Switzerland. The friendship marks our shared democratic journey championing liberalism, pluralism and enterprise.
The connect between us is so strong that many scenic places in India are referred to as Mini Switzerland or Switzerland of India. Rightly so, if one is crossed by the Alps, the other is by the mighty Himalayas. If one is the place of Albert Einstein, the other is of Mahatma Gandhi. Yoga and Ayurveda, Fribourg music and bollywood magic have brought our people together.
Switzerland beautiful landscapes, famous brand-names and sporting icons create very positive feelings for Switzerland in India. Every young couple wants to be the Raj and Simran of DDLJ romancing in the Alps. Bollywood has helped in boosting Swiss tourism in India, and the renowned filmmaker Yash Chopra was named honorary ambassador of Interlaken.
On the trade and investment side, we can do much better. Switzerland is India’s 11th largest trading partner and 12th largest investor into India but the potential is many fold higher. I believe we can be natural partners- Switzerland has state of the art technologies and is a highly innovative economy while India has a huge skilled workforce and a vast market.
Friends, the people of India have resolved to build an Aatma Nirbhar Bharat or Self Reliant India. It merges the local with the global. It transforms India into an active manufacturing hub at the heart of global value chains. The New India of today has the overall approach of Minimum Government & Maximum Governance.
Government of India’s Flagship initiatives such as the National Infrastructure Pipeline, Make in India, Smart Cities, Digital India, Start-Up India, Skill India are ideal avenues for Swiss collaboration. Priority sectors of cooperation would also include Clean Technology, Railways, Industry 4.0, Agriculture, Healthcare Artificial Intelligence, Vocational Education and Training amongst others.
As you must be aware, Govt of India has launched the Production Linked Incentive Schemes for investors in 13 key sectors of the economy. I invite Swiss companies to make the best use of this scheme.
Friends, India and Switzerland are also negotiating the India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) and the India-Switzerland Bilateral Investment Treaty. We hope the negotiations to be mutually beneficial for both the sides.
Friends, this Embassy launched the MISSP programme in November 2017 to provide handholding services for Swiss SMEs to introduce, explore and enter the Indian market.
It is a matter of pride that, despite the sudden outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic which impacted MISSP, this program is running successfully in its third year. Several webinars and workshops in various complementary sectors were organised in collaboration with Indian and Swiss partners. More than 5000 companies were outreached and I am happy to mention that around 120 Swiss companies are onboard with us.
I am delighted to mention the ongoing strategic cooperation between my Mission and SICC. With SICC’s active support, we have conducted two successful events in Gems & Jewelry and MedTech sector. Several events are in the pipeline to take place in due course of year.
I must mention that India is witnessing an unprecedented Digital transformation. India’s digital profile has been completely transformed. India is working on all the four factors of Industry 4.0- connectivity, automation, artificial intelligence or machine learning and real-time data. Co-WIN platform is one such instance. I invite your ideas and suggestions to build stronger partnerships in innovations in health care including digital health care.
Friends, there is vast scope to combine our relative advantages in capital, technology, science and human resources and work for mutual benefit. India has immense possibilities and a trillion opportunities. I present you a strong case to increase your presence in India for forging everlasting partnerships and interconnections. I thank once again for your valuable presence for celebrating our longstanding India-Switzerland Friendship.
Thankyou!
