Jaishankar meets Swiss Federal Councilor Ueli Maurer and discusses bilateral relations
Foreign Minister S Jaishankar met Ueli Maurer, head of Switzerland’s Federal Department of Finance, on Wednesday and discussed fintech and digital sectors. The two heads of government also exchanged views on global economic challenges.
“A good conversation with Ueli Maurer, Head of the Swiss Federal Department of Finance. We reviewed our bilateral relationship and talked about fintech and digital spaces. We also exchanged views on global economic challenges,” Jaishankar said in a tweet. Earlier this month, India and Switzerland held the 11th round of India-Swiss foreign ministry consultations in New Delhi.
During the consultations, both sides undertook a comprehensive review of bilateral relations. They referred to their long-standing dynamic partnership and agreed to make it future-oriented, read the State Department press release. Both sides estimated that annual bilateral trade exceeded $30 billion and agreed on the importance of diversifying their trade, the release added.
Over 330 Swiss companies are present in India in sectors such as engineering, services, precision instruments, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, while Indian companies are present in Switzerland in sectors such as IT, pharmaceuticals and machinery. Both sides took note of the progress made in the negotiations on the India-Switzerland Bilateral Investment Agreement and the India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) and agreed on the need for an early conclusion.
They agreed on further cultural and people-to-people ties and looked forward to duly commemorating 75 years of bilateral diplomatic relations next year. Both sides agreed to continue high-level exchanges and regular meetings of the institutional mechanisms such as the Joint Economic Commission, the Joint Railways and Environment Working Groups and the Financial Dialogue to keep momentum in the bilateral ties, the press release added. (ANI)
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