NEW DELHI, October 5 — Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the President of the Swiss Confederation, H.E. Mr. Guy Parmelin, held extensive delegation-level bilateral discussions at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, undertaking a comprehensive review of strategic partnerships across trade, precision manufacturing, clean energy, and vocational skill mobility.
A central priority of the deliberations was accelerating the institutional operationalization of the historic India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA), which commits $100 billion in direct investment into India over 15 years alongside the creation of over one million direct domestic jobs. President Parmelin reiterated the eagerness of Swiss multinational enterprises to deepen investments in India's semiconductor corridors, biotechnology clusters, and rail rolling-stock fabrication.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the leaders also exchanged perspectives on Indo-Pacific supply chain resilience, green hydrogen development, and multilateral institutional reforms. President Droupadi Murmu later hosted a State Banquet in honor of the visiting dignitary at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Bilateral diplomatic engagements, free trade pact architectures (TEPA), and multilateral economic alliances are recurrent subjects in UPSC GS Paper II (International Relations). Candidates should remember that the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is an intergovernmental trade organization established in 1960 comprising Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein.