India seeks Swiss cooperation on digitalisation
Swiss State Secretary Livia Leu has held high-level talks in India focusing on bilateral relations and multilateral cooperation.
The foreign ministry said both sides reaffirmed their intention to boost their partnership in the areas of digitalisation, innovation and sustainability.
Leu’s Indian counterpart, Sanjay Verma, expressed his interest in Switzerland’s proposal to begin a dialogue on digitalisation, according to a foreign ministry statementExternal link on Tuesday.
A first meeting is planned in the Indian capital, Delhi, in October.
Both sides also stressed the importance of proceeding with stalled negotiations on a free trade agreement between India and the EFTA group of countries, which includes Switzerland and three other European nations.
India is one of Switzerland’s main trading partners in Asia according to the Swiss economics ministry, but talks about a free trade deal, launched in 2008, have made limited progress.
Leu also met the Indian minister of state for external affairs, Meenakshi Lekhi, and visited an institute of technology in Delhi, where Swiss and Indian scientists have worked on a joint project to develop a low-carbon alternative to conventional cement, the foreign ministry statement added.
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