Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Switzerland’s Geneva International Airport on the third leg of his five-nation visit.

Exchange of high level visits in the recent past has provided an impetus to strengthen bilateral cooperation between the countries. PM Modi is likely to take up the issue of black money with Swiss President Johann Schneider Ammann in a meeting seeking an agreement for automatic exchange of information on cross-border tax evasion.

The 2 countries are already in touch to facilitate the agreement and India is hoping that PM’s visit will expedite the process.

With growing bilateral trade and foreign investment, India and Switzerland enjoy strong economic ties.

Swiss-India bilateral trade nearly tripled from USD 1.6 billion in 2004 to USD 4.5 billion in 2011 even as the balance of trade has remained in favour of Switzerland.

From April 2000 to Sept. 2015, Switzerland invested as FDI approximately USD 3.18 billion in India, thus becoming the 11th largest investor and accounting for about 1.2% of total FDI in India during this period.

Switzerland has a vibrant Indian community. It comprises approximately 18,000 Indians, including over 6300 persons of Indian origin. Most of them are professionals in Engineering, IT, pharmaceuticals and paramedical fields.

The International Day of Yoga was celebrated on 21st June, 2015 in various cities of Switzerland with a lot of enthusiasm. There is palpable enthusiasm there once again ahead of the second International Day of Yoga this month.

India and Switzerland have had cordial and friendly relations since India’s independence. They have elevated their bilateral relationship to a new and higher level by agreeing to establish a Privileged Partnership between them.