In a bid to resume negotiations on the proposed India-EFTA free trade pact, senior Swiss government official Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch will visit India this week.
The announcement about the upcoming visit was made after the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Swiss President Johann Schneider-Ammann here today.
The trade talks between India and Europe Free Trade Association (EFTA) – the grouping of Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein – have been stalled on a host of issues.
In a statement issued after the meeting, the Swiss government said the President reiterated Switzerland’s wish to intensify efforts towards a free trade agreement between the EFTA states and India.
“State Secretary Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch, Director of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) will travel to India this week in this connection,” it noted.
The statement quoting the Swiss President said it is hoped that the visit would mark a further step towards resuming negotiations.
India is Switzerland’s third largest trading partner in Asia.
The negotiations on India-EFTA free trade pact have been stuck since November 2013 due to various issues, including those pertaining to Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).
India-EFTA trade talks were launched in 2008. The proposed pact covers both trade in goods (industrial and agricultural products) and in services, market access for investments, protection of intellectual property and public procurement.
Both sides have completed over a dozen rounds of talks so far.
The two-way trade between India and EFTA stood at $24.5 billion in 2014-15 as against $22.1 billion in 2013-14.
Both countries share a strong interest in vocational education and training.
Research programme
“Swiss and Indian institutions are working together on a research programme with the aim of establishing a joint culture of research. There is great potential in climate research, cleantech, air pollution control, sustainable urban development and renewable energies,” the statement said.
Besides, the two sides today discussed financial policy matters.
Switzerland and India stressed their shared resolve to take action against tax fraud and tax avoidance and underlined the high quality of their cooperation in this area, it added.
At the meeting, Switzerland was represented by Ineichen-Fleisch and State Secretary at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) Yves Rossier.