Swiss President Guy Parmelin has described the India–European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) as a potential “win-win” for both countries, saying strong corporate interest in the pact could boost bilateral trade, investment and employment.
Marking the first anniversary of the agreement entering into force in October 2025, Parmelin gave a positive assessment of its implementation following delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“I assess the implementation of the agreement very positively. Interest by companies in the TEPA has been very strong since its entry into force,” he said during the joint press statement. “I expect that the TEPA will provide a significant boost to bilateral trade between Switzerland and India in the years to come.”
Parmelin said the agreement’s investment focus brought together the complementary strengths of the two economies. Switzerland offered companies with global reach, specialised technologies, strong innovation capabilities and a long-term investment approach, while India combined scale with a dynamic economy, a highly skilled workforce and an increasingly important role in global value chains.
Beyond trade concessions, he said, TEPA could help build a deeper and lasting economic relationship that encouraged long-term investment, created employment and supported innovation and sustainable growth.
The agreement covers India and the four EFTA members—Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
PM Modi described TEPA as India’s first free trade agreement with a European economic bloc and thanked Parmelin for his personal support in bringing it into force.
“This is also an ambitious blueprint of investment, innovation, jobs and mutual prosperity,” PM Modi said, highlighting the goals of attracting $100 billion in investment into India and creating 10 lakh direct jobs over the next 15 years.
The Prime Minister said the two sides had taken important decisions to expand market access for Indian exports and facilitate bilateral investment. These measures would support exports of agricultural products, pharmaceuticals, textiles and engineering goods to Switzerland, while attracting Swiss investment into Indian biotechnology, life sciences, banking, insurance, food processing and sustainability.
Parmelin said Swiss companies had already made or planned investments in India across transportation and logistics, financial services, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, and technology and electronics. Switzerland and other EFTA states had undertaken more than 150 promotion activities since 2024 to encourage private-sector engagement, he added.
In an interview with ANI, Parmelin also highlighted India’s expanding international influence, describing it as a “key actor in global governance” with an increasingly important geopolitical role.
He said Switzerland valued India’s commitment to dialogue and cooperation and its active participation in international forums. Closer partnerships with countries such as India were essential to strengthening multilateral cooperation and addressing global challenges amid growing fragmentation in the international order, he said.
The Swiss President pointed to the AI Impact Summit hosted in New Delhi in February 2026 as an example of India’s leadership on emerging global issues.
“India has demonstrated exceptional leadership in amplifying underrepresented voices in global technology discussions, especially from the Global South,” he said.
Switzerland will host the next AI Summit in Geneva in June 2027. Parmelin described India as a key partner and said Switzerland was committed to ensuring continuity between the two summits and looked forward to India’s participation.
Looking ahead, Parmelin said India–Switzerland relations had “never been this close and dynamic”. He identified trade and investment, research and innovation, sustainable development and people-to-people contacts as areas with significant potential for progress over the next decade.
He also highlighted arrangements concluded during the visit on the exchange of young professionals and a Migration and Mobility Partnership as measures that could strengthen people-to-people ties.
Parmelin said his meeting with PM Modi reflected the excellent relations between the two countries, founded on mutual respect, trust and strong economic ties.
The Swiss President arrived in India on Monday for a three-day State visit at PM Modi’s invitation, accompanied by a high-level delegation of senior officials and business leaders. According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), this is his first State visit to India and his second visit to the country this year, following his participation in the AI Impact Summit in February.
(With ANI inputs)
